St. Albert council and industry advocates want the province to clamp down on door-to-door solar sales.
Alberta Municipalities members passed a resolution presented by St. Albert Coun. Sandy Clark on Thursday, Sept. 24 to lobby the province to enhance regulatory oversight of door-to-door solar PV sales and protect residents from misinformation about the Clean Energy Improvement Program (CEIP).
Small-scale solar has taken off in Alberta, with the number of sites with it jumping from about 7,500 in November 2021 to about 40,000 in November 2025, Solar Alberta reports.
CEIP initiatives have bolstered this rise by letting residents pay for clean energy improvements over time through energy savings and property taxes.
But some door-to-door salespeople have been misleading customers about CEIP to get them to buy rooftop solar, Clark said — claiming they were on the approved list of CEIP contractors when they weren’t, for example. That has caused cities like St. Albert headaches when those customers apply for CEIP funding only to find out they’ve been duped.
“Albertans are experiencing high-pressure sales tactics,” Clark said, and are being pressed into making major financial decisions on their doorstep.
Clark’s resolution noted the province banned door-to-door sales for most household energy products in 2017, but not solar. That has given solar salespeople an unfair advantage.
Clark hopes the province will add solar to its door-to-door ban list and plans to talk to Morinville-St. Albert MLA and Service Alberta Minister Dale Nally about it.
Clifton Lofthaug, president of Great Canadian Solar (which built the solar array atop the Alberco building in St. Albert), said his company does not do door-to-door sales, nor do most reputable solar firms in the province.
“It’s not good for our industry, and it’s not good for the client,” he said of the practice.
Lofthaug said he has heard many complaints from customers who were overcharged by door-to-door solar salespersons and left with broken promises. He wants the province to ban door-to-door sales for solar, as B.C. has done.
Solar Alberta (this province’s main solar industry group) requires its members to follow a code of conduct, under which they are banned from entering contracts within 24 hours of meeting a client at the door, or from making deceptive or misleading claims, said executive director Heather MacKenzie. Anyone who violates the code can be expelled from the group. She hopes the province will require all CEIP-authorized solar installers to be Solar Alberta members so they will be subject to the group’s code of conduct.
Clark advised any resident considering solar to get multiple quotes before signing a contract and to not sign any deal at the door.
“If you’re putting that kind of money out to improve your home, I don’t know if you should be doing it on the doorstep of your home.”
Clark noted that St. Albert’s CEIP fund was fully allocated as of this week but is accepting wait-list applications.
Lofthaug said this is otherwise a great time to invest in rooftop solar.
“Data centres are coming to Alberta and they’re going to significantly increase demand of electricity,” he said; rooftop solar can help you avoid future price hikes.
The Gazette made several attempts to reach local MLA Nally for comment on this issue but did not hear back from him by press time.
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