How much you get
The net-metering tradeoff
You can't take this rebate and also sign a net-metering agreement with your local utility. The rebate is for "load displacement" — using the power you generate yourself, not exporting surplus.
How to claim it
- Confirm eligibility via a quick form
- Select a contractor and get written pre-installation approval
- Installation is completed
- Contractor handles utility interconnection approval
- Rebate arrives after documentation is submitted
Common questions
Does Ontario have a solar rebate for Oshawa homeowners?
Yes — the province's Home Renovation Savings Program pays $1,000 per kW installed, capped at 50% of project cost, up to $5,000, and that applies in Oshawa the same as anywhere else in Ontario. What's local is net metering, which runs through Oshawa Power rather than the province, so the export credit rate is theirs to set.
Is solar worth it in Oshawa?
Oshawa averages 3.92 peak sun hours a day — the highest number of any city in our Ontario dataset, edging out even Oakville and London, based on 2020-2024 measured data. Without a rebate, payback typically runs 10–15 years depending on system size and your local electricity rates.
Does Oshawa charge extra to connect solar to the grid?
It varies by utility, and that catches people off guard. Oshawa Power sets its own connection process and fees for Oshawa, separate from anything the province charges. Ask for that number in writing before you sign a contract, since it differs from what a homeowner in Elexicon-served Whitby next door might be quoted.
Oshawa Power, not Elexicon, is your utility
Oshawa's power comes from Oshawa Power, Oshawa's city-owned utility. (Elexicon Energy, formed in 2019 from Whitby Hydro and Veridian Connections, serves the towns next door, not Oshawa.) The provincial rebate is unaffected by any of that history; it's the same $1,000/kW no matter your utility. What Oshawa Power does control is net metering — the credit rate, rollover terms, and interconnection fee for exported power — so confirm those directly with them before finalizing a system sized to export rather than just self-consume. The Durham Community Energy Plan names rooftop solar adoption as one of the region's paths to its 2050 target, so Oshawa homeowners going solar are pointed in the direction the region already wants.
Oshawa tops our sun-hour list — here's what that actually buys
At 3.92 peak sun hours a day and 14.10 MJ/m² of daily radiation (2020-2024 average), Oshawa edges out every other city in this dataset, though the margin over Oakville or London is small enough that it's a rounding error in practice, not a reason to expect a dramatically shorter payback. A 6 kW system here should generate somewhere around 23-24 kWh on a typical day — a solid number, and evidence that being this far east of Toronto hasn't cost Oshawa anything on the sun-hour front. The city's own environment page tracks the municipal Net Zero Emission Retrofit Strategy, and rooftop solar on existing homes is one of the actions counted toward it.
Next steps
View all Oshawa rebate programs → or check the official Home Renovation Savings Program site → for the current source of truth.