There's no government-set solar buyback price in Alberta. Your electricity retailer sets your export credit. Bright Fire's SMART Solar program pays 35¢/kWh for excess solar sent to the grid, applied automatically. No seasonal switching, no rate windows to track.
In Alberta, “solar buyback” means the micro-generation credit your electricity retailer pays you for excess power your panels export to the grid. For systems under 150 kW there is no province-set buyback price. The rate depends entirely on which retailer and plan you choose.
Bright Fire's SMART Solar program pays 35¢/kWh for exported solar, applied automatically whenever you produce more than you use. When you use more than you produce, you pay your regular Bright Fire energy rate. Nothing to opt into each season, and your credits appear on your bill automatically.
Alberta's Micro-generation Regulation lets homes, farms, and small businesses generate their own renewable electricity and get credited for what they don't use. If your system is under 150 kW, which covers virtually every residential rooftop install, you're a micro-generator, and the credit for your exported power comes from your retailer, not the government.
Here's the flow: your panels power your home first. Any excess flows through your bi-directional meter onto the grid, and your local wires utility records exactly how much you exported. Your retailer then credits you for those exported kilowatt-hours on your bill.
Because the retailer sets the export rate, the difference between solar plans in Alberta is enormous. A standard plan might credit you at the same rate you pay for power. Dedicated solar plans pay a premium rate, and some ask you to manually switch between a “summer” and “winter” rate to capture it.
SMART Solar keeps it simple: 35¢/kWh on exported power, applied automatically in any period where your production exceeds your consumption. No opting in and out, no calendar reminders, no rate windows.
per kWh for excess solar exported to the grid
applies whenever you produce more than you use, no seasonal switching
covers all Alberta micro-generation: rooftop solar, small wind, and more
Export credits are calculated from the export data your local wires utility records at your meter. Systems 150 kW and over fall outside Alberta's micro-generation rules and are settled differently.
Solar production in Alberta swings hard between July and January. Plans that make you manually switch rates put the burden on you to time the seasons right. Miss a switch and you leave credits on the table. SMART Solar reads your actual production-versus-consumption balance and applies the right rate on its own, all year.
Rooftop solar, small wind, or any micro-generation covered by Alberta's rules. Virtually every home install qualifies.
Installed as part of your solar hookup, it measures power flowing both ways. If you're already exporting, you have one.
Homes, farms, and small businesses. Your local utility keeps delivering power through the same wires. Nothing about your service changes.
Moving into a new build with solar included? Sign up and micro-generation kicks in once your meter data starts flowing. Nothing extra for you to do.
And because Bright Fire donates 10% of profits to Alberta communities, the power you sell back does a little extra good close to home.
It's part of Alberta's micro-generation system. When your panels produce more than your home uses, the excess flows to the grid and your electricity retailer credits you for it on your bill. There's no government-set buyback price for systems under 150 kW. The export credit depends entirely on the retailer and plan you choose.
SMART Solar pays 35¢/kWh for excess solar energy exported to the grid, applied automatically in any period where you produce more than you use. No seasonal plan to switch, no rate windows to track.
No. Some solar plans in Alberta ask you to opt in and out of a high summer rate manually. SMART Solar handles it automatically: produce more than you use and the 35¢/kWh rate applies; use more than you produce and you pay your regular Bright Fire energy rate.
In periods where you consume more than you generate (winter, cloudy stretches, overnight) you pay your regular Bright Fire energy rate, the same plan pricing shown on our rates page. Delivery and distribution charges from your local utility apply as usual.
Alberta homes, farms, and small businesses with a working micro-generation system under 150 kW and a bi-directional meter. Bright Fire doesn't sell or install panels. SMART Solar works with the system and installer you already have, and it also covers other micro-generation like small wind.
Credits are calculated from the official export data your local wires utility records at your meter. Because that data arrives after each meter read, expect a short lag between exporting power and seeing the credit on your bill.
No. Your local utility keeps delivering electricity through the same wires and reading the same meter. here's how that works. Only the company that prices your energy and pays your export credit changes. Signing up takes as little as 4 minutes online.
What you earn or save with solar is individual: it depends on your system size, panel orientation, weather, and how your generation compares to your consumption. SMART Solar operates under Alberta's micro-generation rules, and export credits are based on the export data reported by your distribution utility.
Sign up online in as little as 4 minutes. Your service never changes, and your credits apply automatically.
Enroll with SMART SolarQuestions first? See our current rates or call 780-779-7188.