---
title: "BC Greens commit to legalizing balcony solar and restoring net metering"
description: "The BC Green Party published a renewable energy platform on 16 October 2026 that would legalize balcony solar installations, restore net metering credits for households that generate power, and set a target of 35% electricity share of energy use by 2035."
canonical_url: "https://voche.me/bc/provincial-2026/news/bc-greens-renewable-energy-electricity-october-2026"
last_updated: "2026-10-17T21:38:05.118Z"
---

The BC Green Party published a renewable energy platform on 16 October 2026 with four commitments, announced at an event in Squamish during advance voting week for the 24 October BC provincial election.

The first commitment is to legalize balcony solar. The party says renters and homeowners who want to install small solar panels on a balcony or exterior wall face restrictions that it would remove. The party does not name the specific rules it would change.

The second commitment is to restore one-for-one net metering. Net metering is the system where a household that generates more solar power than it uses sends the surplus to the electrical grid and receives a credit on its bill. The party says credits should match the rate households pay for power and calls the current arrangement less favourable for generators.

The third commitment is a target of 35% electricity share of total energy use in BC by 2035, with annual progress reports on the goal.

The fourth commitment is to direct BC Hydro to expand community renewable energy projects by approving them faster, connecting them to the grid more quickly, and offering affordable financing.

[Jeremy Valeriote](/bc/provincial-2026/candidates/jeremy-valeriote), the BC Greens candidate for West Vancouver-Sea to Sky, spoke at the announcement. He said: "Renewable energy is no longer just environmentally responsible, it's the most affordable too." He also said the BC NDP put up barriers to solar and subsidized fossil fuel projects. The NDP's response to that characterization was not included in the party's release, and none was found reported at the time of writing.

The party's release cites a July 2025 report by the International Renewable Energy Agency saying more than 90% of new renewable power projects commissioned globally in the period measured generated electricity at a lower cost than new fossil fuel projects. That report is a public document; the party's release does not link to it directly.

All figures in this announcement are the BC Green Party's own, and the party has not published a breakdown of the cost of these commitments.

You can see BC Green Party candidates by district at [/bc/provincial-2026/parties/bc-green-party](/bc/provincial-2026/parties/bc-green-party). Advance voting for the 24 October election runs 16 to 21 October 2026 at locations listed by Elections BC.

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