Solarshare Co-Op

What Solarshare Co-Op does

SolarShare (legally TREC SolarShare Co-operative (No. 1) Inc) is a Toronto-headquartered, not-for-profit renewable energy co-operative founded in 2010 as a project of parent organization TREC (Toronto Renewable Energy Co-operative). It owns and operates 51 solar photovoltaic (PV) systems across Ontario totaling nearly 15 MW of installed capacity, ranging from 12 kW rural ground-mount installations to 600 kW industrial rooftop arrays situated from Manitoulin Island to St. Catharines to Timiskaming. Each project sells electricity under a 20-year binding Feed-in Tariff (FIT) or microFIT contract with the Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO), with projects over 10 kW holding FIT contracts and smaller projects holding microFIT contracts. As of 2025, the portfolio has generated 163,925,969 kWh of clean electricity lifetime and 2,200 tonnes of CO2e GHG reductions annually.

The co-operative's primary product is the Solar Bond, a retail fixed-income instrument with a $1,000 minimum, a 5-year term, and up to 4.0% fixed annual interest paid semi-annually. Bonds are secured by mortgages on project properties and security interests in project assets, with capital recycled into new project acquisitions and refinancing after commercial operation. Community Power Capital provides bridge development financing that insulates bondholders from construction-stage risk, while Tapestry Community Capital runs the back-end investor portal handling bond administration, certificates, and reinvestment flows. Technology deployed includes Morgan Solar Savanna dual-axis trackers (Sundance, Wintergreen - first Canadian installations), single-axis trackers (Dewey), and SolarVu real-time production monitoring across all 51 sites.

SolarShare monetizes through (i) Solar Bond interest-rate spreads retained as a co-operative surplus, (ii) project-level FIT electricity sales, and (iii) one-time $40 membership fees for co-operative members. The company targets three primary segments: Ontario individual impact investors, Ontario businesses pursuing ESG mandates, and foundations/NGOs (notably those divesting from fossil fuels), with distribution executed exclusively direct-to-consumer via the solarbonds.ca website and the Tapestry investor portal. Co-operative members gain voting rights and elect a nine-member board; TREC provides ongoing oversight while final decision-making authority rests with SolarShare's board. No mobile app, public APIs, or AI capabilities are disclosed.

Name

Solarshare Co-Op

Legal name

TREC SolarShare Co-operative (No. 1) Inc

Website

https://solarbonds.ca

Company type

Private

Founded year

2010

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

SolarShare (TREC SolarShare Co-operative (No. 1) Inc) is a Toronto-based not-for-profit renewable energy co-operative founded in 2010 that owns and operates 51 community solar PV projects across Ontario under 20-year FIT contracts, financing them through Solar Bonds sold to individual investors, businesses, foundations, and NGOs.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community Solar Investment

NAICS

Solar Electric Power Generation (221114), Electric Power Generation (22111)

SIC

Cogeneration Services & Small Power Producers (4991), Asset-Backed Securities (6189)

akta.pro primary industry

Solar Financing, Leasing & Ownership Platforms (Tax Equity, PPA, Securitization) (EUAMABAJ)

akta.pro secondary industries

Solar Project Development & IPP (Utility-Scale & Rooftop) (EUAMABAA), Distributed Generation (DG) Solar & Small Wind (EUAMAJAD)

Keywords

• Community solar investment
• Renewable energy bonds
• Solar photovoltaic projects
• Impact investing
• Feed-in tariff

Headquarters

HQ city

Toronto

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Infrastructure, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Solar Bond investments: SolarShare raises capital from retail investors through Solar Bonds ($1,000 minimum) with fixed interest rates (up to 4.0% historically) and 5-year terms. These bonds finance the acquisition and operation of solar PV projects. The bonds are secured by mortgages on project properties and security interests in project assets.
2. Feed-in Tariff (FIT) electricity sales: Each project sells electricity under 20-year binding FIT contracts with the Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO), guaranteeing a fixed price for all power produced. Projects over 10 kW hold FIT contracts; those under 10 kW hold microFIT contracts.
3. Membership fees: One-time $40 membership fee for new co-operative members.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

SolarShare Co-Op operates and finances 51 community-owned solar photovoltaic projects across Ontario (totaling nearly 15 MW), selling Solar Bonds to individual and institutional investors as its primary financial product. The bonds ($1,000 minimum, 5-year terms, up to 4.0% fixed interest) finance solar project acquisition and operations, while electricity generated is sold under 20-year Feed-in Tariff contracts with the Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO). Investors become co-operative members with democratic governance rights.

Product overview

SolarShare is a not-for-profit renewable energy co-operative that owns and operates 51 solar photovoltaic systems across Ontario. The company offers Solar Bonds as its primary investment product, allowing Ontario residents to invest in community-owned solar power projects and earn competitive returns. The Solar Portfolio consists of projects ranging from 12 kW rural systems to 600 kW industrial rooftop and ground-mount arrays, generating clean electricity under 20-year Feed-in Tariff contracts with the Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Solar Bonds: Investment products offered by SolarShare that allow investors to earn up to 4.0% fixed interest over 5-year terms, with $1,000 minimum investments secured by SolarShare's assets and 20-year FIT contracts.

Products and services

• Solar Bonds Fixed-income investment products offered by SolarShare Co-Op that allow Ontario residents and businesses to invest in community-owned solar power projects. Bonds have a $1,000 minimum investment, 5-year terms, and earn up to 4.0% fixed interest paid semi-annually. The bonds are secured by mortgages on project properties, security interests in project assets, and 20-year Feed-in Tariff contracts with the IESO.
• Community Solar PV Portfolio (51 projects) A diversified portfolio of 51 community-owned solar photovoltaic projects across Ontario, ranging from 12 kW rural ground-mount systems to 600 kW DC industrial rooftop arrays. Projects are located from Manitoulin Island to St. Catharines to Timiskaming. Electricity generated is sold under 20-year binding Feed-in Tariff contracts with the Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO).
• Co-Operative Membership One-time $40 co-operative membership granting investors democratic governance rights, including voting at Annual General Meetings, Board of Directors elections, and member participation in the cooperative's strategic direction.

Quantifiable outcome

• 2,200 tonnes of CO2e GHG emissions reduced annually
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• TREC (Toronto Renewable Energy Co-operative)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2009TREC founded SolarShare in 2009 and continues as the parent organization. TREC is Canada's leader in community-owned renewable energy development, supporting other co-ops, Indigenous communities, and social enterprises with Community Member & Investment Services, and informing policy through research and advocacy. SolarShare is 'A project of TREC'.
• Tapestry Community CapitalcoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerNon-profit co-op providing back-end investment management for SolarShare. Manages the investor portal, processes investments, handles bond certificates, and provides investor relations services. All SolarBond investors access their investment information through Tapestry's platform.
• Canadian Worker Co-operative Federation (CWCF)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerNational bilingual grassroots membership organization offering Self-Directed RRSP and TFSA programs enabling co-operatives to capitalize ventures with securities in Registered Plans. Many SolarShare investors hold Solar Bonds in RRSPs and TFSAs through CWCF. SolarShare no longer offering new RRSP/TFSA holding options.
• Green Timiskaming Co-operativecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnered with SolarShare to develop the Sundance project portfolio (8x500kW systems) in Timiskaming, Ontario. One of SolarShare's first major co-development partnerships for community-owned solar.
• Queen Street Solar Co-operativeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnered on Dewey and Kaladar projects. SolarShare purchased Queen Street Solar's stake in completed projects after they achieved commercial operation.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Clean Energy Collective: Pioneer in community solar programs that allocated production from shared solar arrays to multiple subscribers, a closely analogous business model in distributed solar ownership and revenue sharing.
• Mosaic: Solar financing platform that pooled retail capital to fund distributed residential and commercial solar projects, most directly comparable to SolarShare's bond-issuance-and-project-finance model.
• SunShare: US community solar subscription platform enabling individuals to subscribe to shares of a community solar project, mirroring SolarShare's community-ownership thesis and distributed-generation solar model.

Broad incumbents

• Bullfrog Power: Canada's leading green energy retailer supplying renewable electricity and natural gas to households and businesses; a co-development partner of SolarShare and natural adjacent peer in the Ontario clean energy ecosystem.
• Generate Capital: Sustainable infrastructure financier that provides structured debt and equity for distributed renewable projects; represents the institutional-grade equivalent of SolarShare's retail bond platform for financing clean energy assets.
• Innergex Renewable Energy: Canadian independent renewable power producer with an operational portfolio of solar, wind, hydro, and storage facilities under long-term PPAs — a broader market analogue that uses contract structures similar to SolarShare's FIT contracts.
• Boralex: Canadian independent power producer with a meaningful solar and storage footprint operating under long-term contracts; comparable as a larger-scale Ontario-context IPP competing for the same regulatory framework and project pipeline.
• Sunrun: US residential solar leasing and PPA leader that monetizes solar projects via long-dated customer contracts; functionally analogous to SolarShare's use of long-dated contracts (FIT) and retail capital (Solar Bonds) to finance distributed PV.
• SkyPower Global (formerly SkyPower): One of Canada's largest solar developers with utility-scale and distributed-generation projects across Ontario and globally; comparable as a larger actor in the same Ontario solar regulatory and project-development environment.

Emerging players

• Solar Krafter Utilities: Canadian small-scale solar developer focused on Ontario rooftop and ground-mount projects under microFIT/FIT contracts; an emerging player operating in the same regulatory niche as SolarShare's community-financed portfolio.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/SolarShare
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCtlmJage3kb0OlUdKpZ9UqQ
• Facebookfacebook.com/SolarShare
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/solarshare

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Solarshare Co-Op