Solar panels in Quebec in 2026: $1,000-per-kW rebate, payback and steps

Hydro-Québec says it itself: its financial support for solar aims to shorten the payback period of an installation from 25 to 30 years to 10 to 12 years by 2035. That support took shape in 2026 with a grant of $1,000 per installed kilowatt, paid through the LogisVert program and often called a rebate. But between the grant, net metering, your electricity distributor and the sun in your region, whether panels pay off varies a lot from one home to the next.

Here is what you need to know in October 2026 about the solar panel rebate in Quebec, net metering and payback, with sources and a calculation you can redo with your quote. For the equipment itself (panel types, inverters, warranties), read our article on the benefits of home solar panels instead; for the role of solar in a province that already runs on hydro, see the benefits of solar energy.

The LogisVert grant: $1,000 per kW, up to 40% of the cost

Hydro-Québec has offered this grant since March 31, 2026, for panels installed on or after June 30, 2025: $1,000 per installed kilowatt, up to 40% of the purchase and installation cost. A 5-kW system therefore gets $5,000 if it costs at least $12,500. In other words, the 40% cap only comes into play if your installation costs less than $2.50 per watt. The amount is determined by the installation date, which must appear on your invoice.

The conditions

• The home: a house (single-family, semi-detached, row house, mobile home or cottage), a multiplex or a residential building with no more than 19 units, but not a condo. A detached garage or shed can also carry the panels.
• The person: the grant is paid to the owner. Hydro-Québec also requires you to own the equipment and the site where it is installed, and to operate the equipment.
• The panels: new, certified to CSA 22.2 No. 61730 and CSA 61215 (or their UL or IEC equivalents), and bought from a Quebec retailer or online from a retailer with an address in Quebec.
• The work: a complete installation (panels, mounting structures, cables, inverter) connected to the grid with Hydro-Québec's approval, by a company listed with the Registraire des entreprises du Québec and holding the appropriate licences from the Régie du bâtiment du Québec (RBQ).
• What is excluded: replacing an existing system, roof work, engineering plans, storage equipment (batteries) and work after a disaster that is covered by insurance or a warranty.
• The deadline: the application must be submitted no later than nine months after the panels are installed.

Planning a heat pump too? If you group at least two different measures in one application, LogisVert adds 5% to the total grant; the nine-month deadline then runs from the first measure. See our guide on heat pumps and LogisVert.

In the Magdalen Islands: $2,000 per kW

Residents of the Magdalen Islands (Îles-de-la-Madeleine) have their own terms (version of March 31, 2026): $2,000 per installed kW, up to 50% of the purchase and installation costs, unless the home's main heating system is fuel-fired. The 5% multiple-measures bonus does not apply. Here, the cap kicks in as soon as the system costs less than $4.00 per watt: at $3.00 per watt, 5 kW ($15,000) gets $7,500, not $10,000.

Because the Islands are supplied by an off-grid system, net metering there follows Option III of Hydro-Québec's rates: each kWh you feed into the grid is credited in dollars, at 21.270¢, 41.287¢ or 60.055¢ depending on whether the power plant runs on heavy diesel, light diesel or arctic diesel. This credit cannot bring your bill below the system access charge, the bank is reset to zero every 24 months with no payout of the balance provided for, and capacity is limited to 20 kW for a single-phase installation. As for sunshine, one kW generates 1,059 kWh a year in Cap-aux-Meules according to Natural Resources Canada, compared with 1,124 kWh in Gaspé.

Net metering: your surplus becomes credits

Hydro-Québec's net metering (Option I in its rates) is for Rate D, DM or DP customers. Your panels power your home first. When they generate more than you use, the surplus flows into the grid; when they fall short, at night or in winter, you draw electricity from the grid. Each bill shows the electricity Hydro-Québec delivered and the electricity you fed into the grid: you pay the difference, plus the system access charge (46.154¢ per day), which is billed in all cases.

If you feed in more than you receive during a period, the surplus builds up in kWh in a "surplus bank," which reduces your next bills. Example: in July, you receive 400 kWh from the grid and feed in 600. You only pay the access charge, and 200 kWh go into your bank.

Installed capacity cannot exceed either 1,000 kW or the estimated maximum power demand of your account: for a home, it is this second limit that prevents oversizing. Hydro-Québec can also refuse a sign-up if the grid in your area cannot take on more generation.

What each kWh you generate is worth

Under Rate D, since April 1, 2026, a kWh costs 7.065¢ up to 40 kWh times the number of days in the period, then 11.142¢ for the rest. Since your generation reduces the quantity billed, it wipes out the most expensive kWh first: each kWh you generate is worth 11.142¢ as long as your net consumption stays above 40 kWh per day, and 7.065¢ below that. To find out where you stand, divide the consumption on each bill by its number of days.

Since the bank is counted in kWh, a July surplus can wipe out January kWh. And it doesn't matter whether a kWh is used on the spot (self-consumption) or fed into the grid and drawn back later: it is worth the same, unless it is still sitting in the bank when the reset comes.

The 24-month reset

The bank is reset to zero for the first time on March 31 of the even year following your sign-up, then every 24 months (a later date can be arranged with Hydro-Québec, within the 24 months following sign-up). The balance is then credited to you at the average cost of electricity supply, set at 4.730¢ per kWh in the 2026 rates: less than half the second-tier price. So 1,000 kWh left over earn you $47.30, when they could have saved you up to $111.42 in purchases. The balance cannot be transferred to another account either, if you move, for example. If you sign up in fall 2026, the first reset will fall on March 31, 2028. The lesson: size your installation so its output gets used over the two years.

What net metering rules out

Under the 2026 rates, a customer signed up for net metering cannot join Rate Flex D or the Winter Credit Option, which reward electricity savings during winter peaks. We explain both options in saving energy in winter. There is also a self-generation without compensation plan: you stay connected to the grid, but your surplus is not credited.

Municipal grids: check who sends your bill

In some towns, Hydro-Québec is not the one distributing electricity: the Régie de l'énergie lists ten municipal distributors, including one cooperative. Their customers are eligible for LogisVert, provided they first get written authorization from the municipality or cooperative to connect the panels and attach it to their application. But Hydro-Québec's net metering does not apply to them. Here is what their by-laws say, as consulted in October 2026.

No net metering option:

• Hydro-Sherbrooke: the net metering section is marked as intentionally omitted in By-law No. 425 (version updated to April 1, 2026). Written authorization is required before connecting generating equipment.
• Hydro-Magog: By-law 3478-2025 only provides for domestic Rates D, DP, DM and DT. By-law 3450-2024 requires prior written authorization, and equipment that feeds power into the grid triggers a $1,150 inspection fee.
• Hydro-Coaticook: the section is marked as intentionally omitted in By-law 18-33 (2025).
• Ville d'Alma's electricity service: the option is listed as not applicable in By-law 396-2026.
• Ville d'Amos's electricity service: no net metering option in By-law VA1-72, in force since April 1, 2026.
• Ville de Baie-Comeau: in By-law 2026-1158, section 6 of the domestic rates, the one that holds net metering at Hydro-Québec, is repealed.
• Hydro-Joliette: no option in By-law 159-2026, and written authorization is required before any connection (By-law 158-2026).

Feeding power into the grid not allowed: at Hydro Westmount, By-law 1619 does not permit connecting generating equipment to feed electricity into the grid.

Net metering offered, with different rules: Hydro-Jonquière (By-law VS-R-2024-28, the latest one published in full) and the Coopérative régionale d'électricité de Saint-Jean-Baptiste-de-Rouville (By-law R2026-01) offer it for installations of up to 50 kW. Their bank is also reset to zero every 24 months, but their by-laws provide for no payout of the balance.

Without net metering, nothing provides for a credit on the electricity you feed into the grid: only the kWh used at the moment your panels generate them reduce your bill. Check your distributor's name on your bill before asking for quotes.

How much one kW generates in your region

Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) publishes the photovoltaic potential of more than 3,500 municipalities: the expected lifetime average electricity production of a grid-connected system without batteries, per installed kilowatt. Here is the annual value for south-facing panels tilted at the local latitude, in a large city in each region. Click your region to see the installers who serve it.

The last two columns, rounded to the dollar, assume Hydro-Québec's net metering. Hydro-Québec states that one kW can generate an average of 1,200 kWh a year in Quebec ("up to" 1,200 kWh, says its best-practices page). For the 17 cities in the table, NRCan gives 1,118 to 1,200 kWh: Hydro-Québec's figure is therefore the top of the range. Use the one for your city.

Orientation matters too. In Montreal, according to NRCan, panels laid flat generate 969 kWh per kW (19% less) and vertical panels, 867 kWh (27% less). For an east- or west-facing roof, NRCan gives no figure: insist on an estimate made for your roof, with its actual shading.

Payback: the calculation to redo with your quote

You need four numbers: the planned capacity (in kW), the total price of your quote, the generation per kW in your region and what a kWh is worth to you.

1. Generation per year = capacity (kW) × kWh per kW in your region, or the estimate in your quote if your roof does not face due south.
2. Savings per year = generation × value of a kWh: 11.142¢ if your bills stay above 40 kWh per day, 7.065¢ otherwise, 4.730¢ for whatever is left in the bank at reset time, and 0¢ for surplus where there is no net metering.
3. Grant = the smaller of two amounts: $1,000 × kW, or 40% of the cost.
4. Payback period (in years) = (cost − grant) ÷ savings per year.

An example: 5 kW in Montreal

For the cost, we don't make anything up: we use the default value in Hydro-Québec's simulator, $3.00 per watt. It is not a market price, and the simulator does not say whether taxes are included: replace it with the total of your quote. Cost: 5,000 W × $3.00 = $15,000. Grant: 5 kW × $1,000 = $5,000 (40% of the cost would be $6,000; the smaller amount applies), for a net cost of $10,000. Generation: 5 kW × 1,190 kWh = 5,950 kWh a year. Savings: 5,950 kWh × 11.142¢ = $662.95 in the best case, or 5,950 kWh × 7.065¢ = $420.37 in the worst.

Without the grant, we get 23 to 36 years, which brackets Hydro-Québec's estimate of 25 to 30 years. The grant cuts 7.5 to 12 years, without reaching the 10-to-12-year target set for 2035. With a distributor that has no net metering, only the share of generation used on the spot counts: if that share is half, the savings are cut in half and the payback period doubles.

What this calculation leaves out

• Rates change. Hydro-Québec's rates are revised every April 1: if the price of a kWh goes up, so do your savings.
• The inverter wears out. It may need replacing during the life of the system, Hydro-Québec warns; the utility puts the service life of the panels at 20 to 30 years.
• Financing. Like Hydro-Québec's simulator, the calculation assumes the system is paid in full at purchase. A loan adds interest.
• The roof. Roof repairs are not covered by the grant: have the roof's condition and structural capacity assessed before installing anything.
• Connection. Hydro-Québec charges no connection fee for the vast majority of projects, but a complex project may require a study at your expense, never without your approval.

Redo the exercise with our solar calculator, or with Hydro-Québec's simulator, which assumes ideal conditions: optimal orientation, no shade, weather averaged over 10 years.

The steps, in the right order

The classic mistake: buying the equipment, then asking for permission to connect it. Hydro-Québec recommends the opposite.

1. Check your distributor and your municipality. If your bill doesn't come from Hydro-Québec, first get written authorization from your grid. Also check municipal regulations, which vary depending on whether the panels go on the roof or on the ground.
2. Have the project assessed (roof condition, orientation, shade, size based on your consumption) and ask for comparable quotes: total price, capacity in watts, estimated annual generation.
3. Have the connection application submitted before buying anything. The electrical contractor, a member of the Corporation des maîtres électriciens du Québec (CMEQ), submits it; for the grant, it must be made by a master electrician. Hydro-Québec then analyzes the hosting capacity of the grid in your area and may put the application on hold if the area already has a lot of self-generation.
4. Wait for conditional acceptance. That's your green light to buy the equipment.
5. Installation and final authorization. The contractor carries out compliance testing and sends a signed verification report. If it is satisfactory, Hydro-Québec issues its final authorization, which is mandatory before the equipment is connected. Never connect anything yourself: a non-compliant installation poses a risk of fire and serious injury, Hydro-Québec warns.
6. Apply for the grant on the logisvert.ca portal (available in French only), no later than nine months after installation. You'll need proof of ownership (municipal tax bill or deed of sale), the invoices (installation date and address, RBQ licence number, GST and QST numbers, panel manufacturer and model, cost), the final authorization, the CSA certificates, the data sheets and photos showing the number of panels. Processing takes 10 to 12 weeks after a complete application is received.

Winter and snow

Winter sun is low and brief. According to NRCan, in Montreal, one kW generates 63 kWh in December, compared with 123 kWh in July; December to February accounts for about 20% of annual generation, and November to March, 35%. That's why the surplus bank matters: summer pays for part of winter.

What about snow? According to Hydro-Québec, in most cases there is no need to clear snow off the panels: a well-designed installation with adequate tilt and sufficient mounting height, ideally about 45 cm (18 in.), naturally limits snow buildup. If snow removal is needed, it must be done carefully and with the right tools.

Tilt is the key factor. A study by Sandia National Laboratories published in 2024, on three solar farms in the northeastern United States tilted at 10°, 20° and 35°, shows that the steepest panels shed snow faster and more completely. The study notes that at northern latitudes, snow can cost some systems more than 30% of their annual generation. NRCan points the same way: in Montreal in December, panels laid flat generate 27 kWh per kW, compared with 63 kWh when tilted at the latitude.

One caveat: NRCan does not say whether its averages account for snow. Panels covered from December to February would lose about one fifth of their expected annual generation; from November to March, more than a third. Hence the value of a decent tilt, especially on a flat roof.

What about a battery?

LogisVert excludes storage equipment. The Rénoclimat program, however, offers up to $4,000 for adding a stationary battery in a principal residence or a multi-unit residential building, under its new version in effect from October 1, 2026, to March 31, 2029. The system must store at least 5 kWh, be permanently connected to the electrical panel and have an inverter that operates in parallel with the grid and complies with Hydro-Québec's E.12-07 standard. Portable batteries are excluded, and the grant cannot be combined with other public assistance, municipal aid included, for the same work.

Hydro-Québec presents a battery as optional, but useful for storing energy or keeping power during an outage. Remember that with net metering, you have access to neither Rate Flex D nor the winter credit: a battery won't earn you anything from these peak programs. Ask your installer what your system will do during an outage, with and without a battery. To go further, read our guide on home batteries in Quebec or browse our directory of home battery installers.

Choosing an installer

For the grant, the company must be listed with the Registraire des entreprises du Québec, hold the RBQ licences that match the work and be a member of the professional body for its trade, if applicable. Hydro-Québec spells out the required licences:

• Installing the panels: subclass 11.2 (Contractor – Special equipment and products) or 13.5 (Construction – Prefabricated or special installations).
• Electrical work: subclass 16.0 (Contractor – Electrical), with a contractor who is a member of the CMEQ for the connection.
• Turnkey: all of these licences, except for a general contractor (subclass 1.2 or 1.3) who subcontracts the work to contractors holding the right subclasses.

Hydro-Québec also strongly recommends a company with experience in grid-connected systems, ideally backed by a recognized certification such as that of the North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners (NABCEP). This is a recommendation, not a condition of the grant.

Check the licence on the RBQ website; our guide to checking a contractor's licence (RBQ, CMMTQ, CMEQ) explains how. Then compare quotes on the same basis: price per watt (total price ÷ watts installed), estimated generation for your roof, make and model of the panels and inverter, warranties and who handles the paperwork with Hydro-Québec. Insist that the equipment not be ordered before conditional acceptance. To find companies near you, browse our directory of solar panel installers in Quebec.

Sources

• Participant's guide for residential customers — LogisVert Efficient Homes Program, version 1.10, Hydro-Québec, 2026.
• LogisVert Efficient Homes Program: residential customers, Hydro-Québec, 2026.
• LogisVert Efficient Homes Program — Specific Terms and Conditions for Residents of Îles-de-la-Madeleine, version 1.0, Hydro-Québec, 2026.
• Solar panels, Hydro-Québec, 2026.
• Self-generation, Hydro-Québec, 2026.
• Planning a solar panel installation: five best practices to know, Hydro-Québec, 2026.
• Solar Panel Savings Simulator (decision-support tool), Hydro-Québec, 2026 (default values consulted in October 2026).
• Electricity Rates, effective April 1, 2026, Hydro-Québec, 2026.
• Tools – Solar Photovoltaic Energy (municipal database of photovoltaic potential), Natural Resources Canada, 2025.
• Conditions de service et tarifs d'électricité : distributeurs municipaux (conditions of service and rates of municipal distributors; in French), Régie de l'énergie, 2026 (by-laws of each grid consulted in October 2026).
• Guide du participant – Rénoclimat, édition 2026 (participant's guide; in French), ministère de l'Environnement, de la Lutte contre les changements climatiques, de la Faune et des Parcs, 2026.
• Photovoltaic inverter-based quantification of snow conditions and power loss, Emma C. Cooper, Laurie Burnham and Jennifer L. Braid, EPJ Photovoltaics, 2024.