Business & Farm Solar Installation in Kelowna, BC

OVERVIEW

Daytime load is the advantage

A business uses most of its electricity while the sun is up: lights, compressors, cooling, irrigation, kitchen equipment. That makes solar on a commercial roof in Kelowna work harder than the same panels on a house, because more of the output is used the moment it is made.

FortisBC’s net-metering program covers commercial and irrigation accounts up to 50 kW per account. That is roughly 110 panels and enough for most shops, clinics, small wineries and packing sheds. We size to your load profile, not to the size of the roof, so the system doesn’t build up a surplus that only earns FortisBC’s low annual settlement rate.

Call 250-250-2525 to talk through your bills and roof.

Ground-mounted solar array on steel posts beside rows of apple trees — FIG. S2 Ground mounts on farm land go where they won’t take good growing ground or block the sprayer.

SPEC SHEET

Business & Farm Solar Installation at a glance

Typical size: 15–50 kW per FortisBC account
Time on site: 3–10 days, scheduled around your hours
Structure: Ballasted or attached roof racking, or ground mounts on posts
Utility step: FortisBC net metering (commercial and irrigation accounts, up to 50 kW)
Tax: Ask your accountant about the federal Clean Technology Investment Tax Credit
Monitoring: Production monitoring by array, with alerts

INCLUDED

What a business or farm project includes

01
Load review
Twelve months of interval or billing data, matched to when you actually use power.
02
Structural check
Roof capacity and snow load for rooftop arrays; soil and post design for ground mounts.
03
Landlord and strata packages
Drawings, specifications and letters for owners, councils and insurers.
04
Utility and permits
FortisBC application, electrical permit, and City permits where needed.
05
Out-of-hours installation
Work planned around trading hours, harvest and guests.
06
Handover
Monitoring, single-line drawing and maintenance schedule for your facilities team.

PRICE

Commercial and farm installation costs

System	Typical installed price	Year-one value on FortisBC	Where it fits
15 kW	$36,000 – $44,000	~$2,800	Shop, small office, packing shed
25 kW	$55,000 – $66,000	~$4,650	Winery production building, clinic
50 kW	$105,000 – $130,000	~$9,300	Warehouse, cold storage, the FortisBC cap

Typical ranges, not quotes. Larger systems cost less per watt (about $2.10–$2.60/W). Value assumes every kWh offsets about 15.5¢; commercial rate schedules differ, so we model your actual bill.

Book an assessment Rebates and utility rules

UTILITY LIMITS

FortisBC’s cap shapes a business system

	FortisBC (all of Kelowna)	BC Hydro (westside)
Maximum size	50 kW per account	Up to 300 kW (100 kW per phase)
Exports	Banked as kWh, settled yearly at a low rate	Flat 10¢/kWh on each bill
Rebate	None	Up to $10,000 for commercial accounts
Accounts	Commercial and irrigation accounts eligible	General Service accounts

As of October 2026. Businesses may also qualify for the federal Clean Technology Investment Tax Credit (up to 30% of eligible costs); ask your accountant.

ROOF OR GROUND

Roof or ground mount?

Flat commercial roofs take ballasted racking that sits on the membrane with few or no penetrations, after a structural check. Metal shop and barn roofs take clamp-on mounts with no drilling at all.

On farms and wineries, a ground mount can face due south at the ideal tilt and stay clear of the roof entirely. It costs more for posts and trenching, and it needs a sensible spot that doesn’t take good growing ground.

Winery production building with a large solar array across its metal roof behind rows of vines — FIG. S2 Shop and winery roofs often take an array with no penetrations at all.

TIMELINE

From first visit to switch-on

The usual sequence for a Kelowna installation. Your written plan carries real dates.

FortisBC vs BC Hydro rules

FIG. G A typical home takes 6–10 weeks from first visit to switch-on. Install day itself is the short bar.

Timeline as a table

Step	Who	Weeks	What happens
Assessment	You + us	0–1	Bills, roof, panel box, shade. Usually one visit or a video call.
Design & written quote	Us	1–2	Panel layout, single-line drawing, price, timeline and payback in writing.
FortisBC application	FortisBC	2–5	Net-metering application; FortisBC reviews it and approves construction.
Permits	Us	3–5	Technical Safety BC electrical permit; a City of Kelowna building permit if structural work is involved.
Install days	Crew	5–6	Usually 1–3 days on site for a home: mounts, rails, modules, inverter, wiring.
Inspection	Inspector	6–7	Electrical inspection of the finished work under the permit.
Interconnection & switch-on	FortisBC + you	7–9	Interconnection Agreement signed, meter set for net metering, system commissioned.

QUESTIONS

Q01How does FortisBC net metering work?

FortisBC’s net-metering program covers residential, commercial and irrigation customers with renewable generation on their own property, up to 50 kW. The system should be sized to your expected yearly use.

When you make more than you use in a billing period, the surplus is banked as kWh credit and used in later periods. Anything left at the end of the year is settled once, at the much lower rate FortisBC pays other power producers. That is why we size to your annual use and not to the size of the roof.

Q02Am I on FortisBC or BC Hydro?

Check the name at the top of your electricity bill. Every neighbourhood in the City of Kelowna, including central Kelowna’s old City-run utility area, is served by FortisBC. Across the bridge, West Kelowna, Westbank and Peachland are mostly BC Hydro.

Q03Is solar worth it in BC?

For a Kelowna home on FortisBC with a decent south, west or east roof, usually yes. An 8 kW system costs about $23,200, saves about $1,490 in year one, pays back around year 14 and saves roughly $50,000 over 25 years. It is a long-term investment rather than a quick one, and we tell you plainly when a roof isn’t worth it.

AREAS