N.S. solar installers want Ottawa to pick up the pace on payments

Some solar power contractors in Nova Scotia say the viability of their businesses is threatened because of long waits to get paid through a federal program that offers incentives to homeowners to improve energy efficiency.

The Canada Greener Homes Loan program offers homeowners a 10-year, interest-free loan of up to $40,000 for projects such as solar power.

The program's website says payment will take 10 days after a job is complete.

"That's never been close to what's come to fruition," said John Jennex, the executive director of Solar Nova Scotia.

Contractors CBC News spoke with said the average wait to get paid is around three months, but some have seen up to eight months.

Hefty upfront costs

"It's been really hard on a lot of installers, especially smaller ones that just don't have the cash flow to float these jobs," said Jennex, who is also the president of Hammonds Plains-based installer Solar Ascent.

Jennex said the average installation his company does costs about $35,000, with a lot of the costs tied up in parts.

To take part in the Greener Homes Loan program, homeowners must follow a series of steps that include getting a home energy audit and obtaining quotes from installers. They have to apply through the program's portal.

If all goes well, contractors say it can take around two months from a homeowner starting the application process to having the installation completed.

"It's been a real struggle lately," said Brian McKay, the president of Aztek Solar, a company with nine employees that is based out of Lower Sackville, N.S.

He said business has increased around 300 to 400 per cent this year because of Greener Homes' programs. (Greener Homes also has a separate grant program.)

"We simply can't keep up with it, we can't fund all the jobs that we're doing," said McKay. "It's very difficult."

He said the long waits to get paid have forced the company to get bridge financing.

While the Canada Greener Homes Loan program allows up to 15 per cent of a project's cost to be advanced to the contractor, Jennex called it "a drop in the bucket."

He would like to see Natural Resources Canada — the department that oversees Greener Homes — speed up payment once projects are completed.

In a statement, a department spokesperson did not answer a question about how long on average it's taking for payment to be issued under the program, as well as whether it was taking any steps to speed up payment.

"In the cases where homeowners are experiencing delays in the processing of their files due to system bottlenecks, we encourage them to share their information with us," the statement read.

Nova Scotia Power problems

Adding to solar contractors' grievances is that it's taking longer to complete jobs because of delays getting permits and booking inspections through Nova Scotia Power.

Jackie Allen, territory manager for Watts Up Solar in Wilmot, N.S., phoned Nova Scotia Power one day at 8 a.m. AT and was 74th in the queue. By day's end at 6 p.m., she was in the second spot and got cut off.

"Every day that you don't get through, that's 74 other permits or inspections that got booked that now your customer is another day behind, right?" she said.

Nova Scotia Power says it's working to address delays and has hired 15 more staff.