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How Much Does Commercial Solar Cost in Toronto in 2026?

Last updated By The SolarPanelFinder Rooftop Desk

Long rows of black solar modules on low grey racking across a flat white commercial rooftop, with rooftop mechanical units nearby and the Toronto skyline low and grey on the horizon.
An illustration, not a photograph of a real job. The photographs further down this page are real, and each one is published by the company that took it.
Commercial rooftop solar, Ontario
$2.15–$3.00per watt installed (CAD): Commercial rooftop solar, Ontario (Green Building Canada, What Commercial Solar Panels Cost in Canada 2026)
Commercial solar, Canada-wide, before incentives
$1.90–$2.80per watt installed (CAD): Commercial solar, Canada-wide, before incentives (Green Building Canada, What Commercial Solar Panels Cost in Canada 2026)
50 kW rooftop system
$95,000–$140,000per system (CAD): 50 kW rooftop system (Green Building Canada, What Commercial Solar Panels Cost in Canada 2026)
100 kW rooftop system
$190,000–$280,000per system (CAD): 100 kW rooftop system (Green Building Canada, What Commercial Solar Panels Cost in Canada 2026)
250 kW rooftop system
$475,000–$700,000per system (CAD): 250 kW rooftop system (Green Building Canada, What Commercial Solar Panels Cost in Canada 2026)

Commercial arrays are quoted per watt, and the rate normally drops as the project grows, because engineering and mobilization spread across more capacity. Flat roofs bring ballast and membrane questions a house never has, and larger connections need a utility study, a structural review and stamped drawings. Those are separate line items, not part of the per-watt rate.

Every row names its source

What does commercial solar cost per watt at each project size?

These commercial solar figures rest on 1 independent published source across 10 rows. Each row quotes the sentence its own source used, and nothing here is an average of several.

Two of the scales below say the same thing at different resolutions: the per watt rate an installer works from, and the system prices that rate produces at 25, 50, 100 and 250 kW. Three rows appear in the table above and on no scale at all, and the note under the charts says why for each of them.

per system (CAD)

4 published bands on one scale

  • 25 kW rooftop system

    $47,500–$70,000

    Green Building Canada, What Commercial Solar Panels Cost in Canada 2026

  • 50 kW rooftop system

    $95,000–$140,000

    Green Building Canada, What Commercial Solar Panels Cost in Canada 2026

  • 100 kW rooftop system

    $190,000–$280,000

    Green Building Canada, What Commercial Solar Panels Cost in Canada 2026

  • 250 kW rooftop system

    $475,000–$700,000

    Green Building Canada, What Commercial Solar Panels Cost in Canada 2026

per watt installed (CAD)

2 published bands on one scale

  • Commercial solar, Canada-wide, before incentives

    $1.90–$2.80

    Green Building Canada, What Commercial Solar Panels Cost in Canada 2026

  • Commercial rooftop solar, Ontario

    $2.15–$3.00

    Green Building Canada, What Commercial Solar Panels Cost in Canada 2026

per sq ft of rooftop capacity (CAD)

One published band. Nothing else in this table shares its unit.

  • Cost per square foot of usable roof, at 15 to 20 watts per square foot

    $28.50–$56

    Green Building Canada, What Commercial Solar Panels Cost in Canada 2026

3 rows are in the table above but not on any scale here. A band can only be drawn where a source published a plain dollar figure at both ends. These did not, and rounding them into one would publish a number nobody published:

  • 500 kW rooftop system ($1.4 million) is written out in words by its source, and kept in the source's own wording.
  • Ongoing operations and maintenance (0.2% to 1%) is stated as a percentage of system cost, not a dollar amount.
  • Inverter replacement, every 10 to 15 years (10% to 15%) is stated as a percentage of system cost, not a dollar amount.
Gathered August 2026, in Canadian dollars, with every row naming its source. HST sits on top of these figures unless a row says otherwise.
Item and what the figure coversTypical rangeUnitSource
Commercial rooftop solar, OntarioThe source gives this as the Ontario average per watt and notes British Columbia is cheaper at $1.90-$2.60/W. It advises getting multiple local quotes rather than treating this as a price.$2.15–$3.00per watt installed (CAD)Green Building Canada, What Commercial Solar Panels Cost in Canada 2026
Commercial solar, Canada-wide, before incentivesBefore incentives, and a 2025 figure, not 2026. Includes panels, inverters, mounting, labour, permitting and electrical work. The source notes per-watt cost falls as system size rises, so a small commercial job sits above this band.$1.90–$2.80per watt installed (CAD)Green Building Canada, What Commercial Solar Panels Cost in Canada 2026
50 kW rooftop systemBefore incentives, from the same Canada-wide size table. 50 kW is also the threshold above which Ontario utilities generally require a distribution impact study.$95,000–$140,000per system (CAD)Green Building Canada, What Commercial Solar Panels Cost in Canada 2026
100 kW rooftop systemBefore incentives, from the same Canada-wide size table.$190,000–$280,000per system (CAD)Green Building Canada, What Commercial Solar Panels Cost in Canada 2026
250 kW rooftop systemBefore incentives, from the same Canada-wide size table.$475,000–$700,000per system (CAD)Green Building Canada, What Commercial Solar Panels Cost in Canada 2026
25 kW rooftop systemFrom the source's own size table, built off its $1.90-$2.80 per watt Canada-wide figure rather than measured Ontario jobs.$47,500–$70,000per system (CAD)Green Building Canada, What Commercial Solar Panels Cost in Canada 2026
500 kW rooftop systemBefore incentives, from the same Canada-wide size table. The source writes the top of this band as '$1.4 million' and that wording is kept here rather than expanded, so the figure matches the source exactly.$950,000–$1.4 millionper system (CAD)Green Building Canada, What Commercial Solar Panels Cost in Canada 2026
Cost per square foot of usable roof, at 15 to 20 watts per square footA rule-of-thumb the source derives from its own per-watt range, not a measured price. It includes panels, racking, wiring and labour but EXCLUDES structural upgrades such as roof reinforcement, which the source warns can be significant on an aging building.$28.50–$56per sq ft of rooftop capacity (CAD)Green Building Canada, What Commercial Solar Panels Cost in Canada 2026
Ongoing operations and maintenanceA percentage of system cost per year, not a dollar figure. The source also cites Alberta Utilities data showing a fixed O&M of $27.47 per kW per year as a separate benchmark.0.2%–1%of system cost per year (CAD)Green Building Canada, What Commercial Solar Panels Cost in Canada 2026
Inverter replacement, every 10 to 15 yearsA percentage of system cost, not a dollar figure, and the 10 to 15 year interval comes from the same sentence.10%–15%of system cost (CAD)Green Building Canada, What Commercial Solar Panels Cost in Canada 2026

Drawn from this page's own rows

How the parts of this job fit together

What a commercial array has to clear, and the size that triggers each rung

Every rung below is a threshold this page names. A commercial rooftop project passes each in turn, and on the upper rungs the calendar time matters as much as the fee.

  1. Any grid-connected size

    residential and commercial alike

    • An ESA Notification of Work, filed before work begins

      Filed by a licensed Electrical Contractor. The fee scales with inverter capacity.

  2. Above 10 kW

    the longer net metering route

    • Form B rather than Form C, filed after the ESA Certificate of Inspection

      The utility also assesses the impact on the local distribution system.

  3. Above 50 kW

    the utility gets involved before it will connect anything

    • A distribution impact study

      Budget calendar time for it as well as money. The fee is not published here.

    • The 50 kW system this threshold sits on

      $95,000–$140,000

      per system (CAD), Green Building Canada, What Commercial Solar Panels Cost in Canada 2026

  4. Any commercial scale

    engineering stops being optional

    • P.Eng stamped drawings for CSA C22.1 Section 64

      Structural certification carries its own building permit. Neither price is published here.

Three fees on this ladder used to be published here as numbers. The source carrying them deleted its Canadian pages, so they were removed rather than replaced with an estimate, and each rung now names the requirement without pricing it.

What do the terms on this page mean?

Three words a commercial solar quote will use without explaining.

Distribution impact study
The assessment a local utility runs before connecting a system above 50 kW, to check what the array does to its network. You pay for it whether or not the project proceeds.
CSA C22.1 Section 64
The section of the Canadian Electrical Code covering renewable energy systems. Compliance on a commercial job needs drawings stamped by a professional engineer.
Soft costs
Everything on a commercial quote that is not equipment or installation labour: permits, studies, engineering and inspection. They land before a panel reaches the roof.

What drives the price?

Size, site access and the condition of what is already there move commercial solar pricing more than anything else in Toronto. Each factor below is drawn from the sources above, so you can read a quote and see where the money goes.

  • System size, since Ontario pricing of $2.15 to $3.00 per watt runs from $47,500 at 25 kW to $1.4 million at 500 kW
  • Usable roof area, which at 15 to 20 watts per square foot works out to $28.50 to $56 per square foot of roof used
  • Roof age and structure, because per-watt pricing excludes roof reinforcement and an aging building can need it
  • Grid connection scale, where systems above 50 kW trigger a utility distribution impact study before the array can connect
  • Engineering requirements, since P.Eng stamped drawings for CSA C22.1 Section 64 and a structural building permit are both separate lines from the installation
  • Inverter capacity, which sets the ESA notification fee band - the per-band amounts came from a source that has deleted its Canadian pages and are no longer published here
  • Ongoing costs, at 0.2 to 1 percent of system cost a year plus an inverter replacement at 10 to 15 percent every 10 to 15 years

What's specific to Ontario and Toronto?

HST at 13 percent, an ESA Notification of Work filed before the job starts, and a municipal permit that differs city by city are the three Ontario rules that change the number on a quote. Toronto's freeze-thaw cycle changes the specification.

  • Ontario commercial rooftop solar runs $2.15 to $3.00 per watt installed, above the $1.90 to $2.80 Canadian average (Green Building Canada).
  • Every PV installation connected to the electrical system in Ontario needs an ESA Notification of Work, filed by a licensed Electrical Contractor before work begins (SurgePV). The fee scales with inverter capacity. We previously published the per-band figures; the source has removed its Canadian pages and we have not replaced those numbers with a guess, so ask your contractor what the notification and inspection will cost for your capacity.
  • Systems above 10 kW use the longer net metering application, Form B rather than Form C, and go in after the ESA Certificate of Inspection. All of Ontario's roughly 60 local distribution companies must offer net metering, and the utility assesses the impact on the local distribution system for systems above 10 kW (SurgePV). Net metering credits exported power against the building's electricity bill; it is not a payment from the utility.
  • Above 50 kW the local utility runs a distribution impact study before it will connect the system. Budget calendar time for it as well as money. The cost figure this guide used to carry came from a source that has since deleted its Canadian pages, so it is not published here.
  • Engineering is not optional at commercial scale: CSA C22.1 Section 64 compliance needs P.Eng stamped drawings, and structural certification needs its own building permit. The prices this guide carried for both came from a source that has deleted its Canadian pages, so they have been removed rather than replaced.
  • Ontario HST is 13 percent. On a $190,000 100 kW system that is $24,700, so confirm which side of the tax line a proposal sits on.

How can I pay less?

You can keep commercial solar costs down without cutting the parts that matter. These are the levers GTA homeowners actually use, each tied to a real number above.

  • Price every proposal per watt and compare against the Ontario band of $2.15 to $3.00. A $350,000 quote for 100 kW is $3.50 per watt, well above market.
  • Size to the roof, not to the bill. Per-watt cost falls as the array grows because engineering, permitting and mobilisation are largely fixed.
  • Get the roof assessed before the array is designed. Reinforcement is excluded from published per-watt pricing and is far cheaper to plan than to discover.
  • Ask what the proposal assumes about soft costs. Permits and grid studies on a 50 kW rooftop run $5,000 to $11,000, and a bid that omits them is not comparable to one that includes them.
  • Watch the 50 kW threshold. Crossing it adds a utility distribution impact study plus review time, so a 49 kW design can be materially simpler and faster to connect.
  • Budget the inverter replacement at 10 to 15 percent of system cost around year 10 to 15, and put maintenance at 0.2 to 1 percent a year into the business case from the start.

How did we research these numbers?

Every commercial solar figure above was re-checked against its own source in August 2026: the number has to appear in that document, in a sentence about the same job, or the row came off. Here is what the 1 surviving source say.

  • There is no published Toronto commercial solar price list. Commercial arrays are quoted per building after a roof survey, so the honest reference point is the Ontario per-watt figure, $2.15 to $3.00 installed according to Green Building Canada, applied to your own roof area.
  • Ontario is more expensive than the Canadian commercial average. Green Building Canada gives $1.90 to $2.80 per watt nationally and $1.90 to $2.60 in British Columbia, against $2.15 to $3.00 in Ontario.
  • Green Building Canada's size table puts a 50 kW rooftop at $95,000 to $140,000. That figure is Canada-wide and is derived from its own $1.90 to $2.80 per watt band rather than from measured Ontario jobs, so read it as a starting point for comparing bids, not as a Toronto price. This guide previously showed a second benchmark alongside it; the site that published it has removed its Canadian pages, so it is no longer here.
  • Commercial per-watt pricing falls as the array grows, which is why 25 kW works out at $1.90 to $2.80 per watt while 500 kW lands at the same rate on a far larger base. The saving comes from spreading fixed engineering, permitting and mobilisation costs, not from cheaper panels.
  • Per-watt figures cover panels, racking, wiring and labour. Green Building Canada is explicit that they exclude structural upgrades such as roof reinforcement, which on an aging building can be significant.
  • Soft costs - permits, utility grid-impact studies and engineering review - are a real line on a commercial job and land before a panel reaches the roof. This guide used to price them. The source those figures came from has deleted its Canadian pages, so we no longer publish a number for them and have not substituted one from elsewhere. Ask every bidder to itemise permitting, studies and engineering separately rather than inside a lump sum.
  • Component split on a commercial job is about 50 to 70 percent panels, 20 to 30 percent inverters and electrical, and roughly 10 percent mounting (Green Building Canada). We found no credible Canadian source publishing commercial payback periods with their assumptions stated, so this page does not print one.

Sources

Who can do the work?

SolarPanelFinder tracks 20 commercial solar contractors across the Greater Toronto Area, rated 4.29★ on average. The three below rank highest on our published score, based on SolarPanelFinder's analysis of 20 GTA businesses, August 2026.

  • Green Integrations Inc.

    Green Integrations Inc.

    • Willowdale
    • Solar Panel Installation
    • Also solar battery storage and commercial solar installation

    58/100 SolarPanelFinder Score

    • Says it has been going since 2012

    6/6 details published

    Request a quote
  • Solar Direct Canada

    Solar Direct Canada

    • Acton
    • Solar Panel Installation
    • Also solar design and consulting and commercial solar installation

    56/100 SolarPanelFinder Score

    • Says it has been going since 1991

    5/6 details published

    Request a quote

What commercial solar work looks like around the GTA

Photographs the companies on this list published themselves, at the size they were taken rather than as a thumbnail.

6 photographs published by 6 companies on this list, on their own Google listings. A company's own pictures of its own work are better evidence than anything this site could write about it. Nothing here is a judgement about the work in them, and each frame links to that company's profile.
See all 20 commercial solar contractors on SolarPanelFinder

Calculators

Work it out for your own place

These run the same published figures as the table above against numbers you enter yourself.

Frequently asked questions

How much does commercial solar cost in Toronto in 2026?

Ontario commercial rooftop solar runs $2.15 to $3.00 per watt installed, against a Canadian average of $1.90 to $2.80, according to Green Building Canada. In whole-system terms that is $47,500 to $70,000 at 25 kW, $95,000 to $140,000 at 50 kW, $190,000 to $280,000 at 100 kW and $475,000 to $700,000 at 250 kW. There is no Toronto-specific published rate, so these Ontario figures are the closest honest benchmark.

What does commercial solar cost per square foot of roof?

About $28.50 to $56 per square foot of roof actually used, based on Green Building Canada's assumption of 15 to 20 watts of capacity per square foot. That figure covers panels, racking, wiring and labour, and excludes any structural reinforcement the roof might need.

What are the permit and engineering costs on a commercial solar project in Ontario?

We no longer publish figures for these. Every permit, grid-impact-study and engineering number on this page came from one source, and that source has deleted its Canadian pages, so the figures cannot be checked and have been removed. Nothing has been substituted in their place. What is still true is the shape of the work: an ESA Notification of Work filed by a licensed Electrical Contractor before work begins, P.Eng stamped drawings for CSA C22.1 Section 64, a building permit for structural certification, and above 50 kW a distribution impact study from the utility. Get each one itemised in writing by the contractor bidding your roof.

Why is a 500 kW system cheaper per watt than a 25 kW one?

Because the fixed costs spread. Engineering at $1,500 to $5,000, permitting and grid studies at $5,000 to $11,000, and crew mobilisation cost roughly the same whether the array is 25 kW or 500 kW, which is why commercial pricing sits at the lower end of the $1.90 to $2.80 per watt band on large jobs.

What does it cost to run a commercial solar array once it is built?

Green Building Canada puts ongoing operations and maintenance at 0.2 to 1 percent of system cost per year, so $380 to $1,900 a year on a $190,000 100 kW array. Plan on one inverter replacement at 10 to 15 percent of system cost every 10 to 15 years.

Does net metering pay my business for exported power?

No. Ontario net metering credits exported electricity against the building's own bill rather than paying it out, and every one of the province's roughly 60 local distribution companies must offer it. Systems above 10 kW use the Form B application, filed after the ESA Certificate of Inspection, and the utility assesses the impact on the local distribution system.

Questions to ask your installer

  1. Who carries out the structural review of the roof, and is it stamped?
  2. How does the utility connection review differ from a residential application?
  3. Has the roofing manufacturer approved your attachment method in writing?
  4. Where does your scope end and the electrical contractor's begin? How commercial scopes are priced
  5. What monitoring and service response is included after commissioning?

Which other costs should I check before I commit?

Commercial Solar rarely arrives on its own. These three price what usually lands on the same project.

Compare commercial solar companies across the GTA

This site does not take quote requests and passes nothing to anyone. Every profile shows the company's own phone number and website, so you contact whoever you want to, directly.

See the ranked list