CRA finds that commercial solar equipment and wind turbines were Canadian real estate and, thus, TCP

Were Canadian-situs solar electric power generating projects (consisting of a leasehold interest, solar panels, steel racks and metal posts, and wires, inverters and transformers, collectively the “Solar Equipment”) and wind electric power generating projects (consisting of a leasehold interest, foundation. and wind turbine including tower) taxable Canadian property (TCP)?

In finding that the Solar Equipment consisted of fixtures and, thus, was TCP under para. (a) of the definition (referring to “real … property situated in Canada”), CRA stated:

[A]ny item which is attached even minimally (such as with screws or bolts) is a fixture and if a piece of equipment is attached to a structure, a part of which could be removed but which would be useless without the attached part, then the entire piece of equipment is a fixture. Solar panels would not lose their essential character nor be useless without the racking system however, they could not effectively function in the context of utility-scale power generation without the racking, which itself serves no purpose unless used with the attached framed solar panels. As all components of the Solar Equipment are attached to the land on which they are situated, it is our view that the Solar Equipment is described in paragraph (a) … .

The wind turbines also (more obviously) constituted fixtures and, thus, TCP.

Neal Armstrong. Summaries of 26 May 2022 External T.I. 2019-0813761E5 under s. 248(1) – TCP – (a) and ETA – s. 123(1) – real property.