April 3, 2012 8:00 am

to

April 4, 2012 6:00 pm

We are pleased to announce that the Ontario Feed-In Tariff Forum will take place on
April 3rd and 4th, 2012 at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre.

Following sold-out conferences in 2010 and 2011, the third Forum will bring together FIT contract holders, developers, manufacturers, suppliers, service providers and government representatives to provide critical and timely insight into the impacts of the FIT review and the new landscape for renewable energy in Ontario.

 

This focal point for the Ontario FIT industry will provide:

• Networking with all the key industry players, policymakers and infrastructure experts involved in FIT

• In-depth analysis on the outcomes of the FIT review and new market dynamics in Ontario

• 120+ speakers with dedicated streams on solar, wind, hydro and bioenergy sectors

• Critical updates on key topics including: grid connection, REA, contract rules, pricing, …

The fastest growing solar market in the world is on pause as the Ontario government invites input from stakeholders on its two-year old Feed-in-Tariff (FIT) program. Half way through the six-week FIT Program Review initiated by the new Minister of Energy, Chris Bentley, Ontario Solar Network is bringing industry stakeholders together for a special Town Hall Meeting on Monday, November 28, 7:00-9:00 PM at University of Toronto’s OISE Auditorium, 252 Bloor Street West. The event is free and advanced registration is recommended. Ontario’s FIT and microFIT program offers “performance-based incentives” (PBIs) to developers and property owners who build solar power plants that add clean, peak power to the province’s electricity grid. As the only major PBI program in North America, the growth of the sector has overwhelmed the government’s abilitiy to manage the program efficiently. The FIT Review will ...

A few years ago, a heated debate started within the U.S. solar industry about which was more cost-effective:  Solar Renewable Energy Credits (SRECs) or Feed-in Tariffs (FITs).

Now that we’ve had more experience with both policies, the question is again being asked. Researchers at the Institute for Local Self Reliance attempted to answer this question, and released a report earlier this month concluding that long-term contracts for clean energy are more cost-competitive than tradeable credit markets.

NOTE:  Some are now calling Feed-in Tariffs “CLEAN Contracts.” Since the report we’re writing about references CLEAN Contracts, we’ll use both terms in this post.

So what does that mean exactly? Considering that solar still has a long way to go before we reach the double-digit penetration, this kind of research helps us understand which solar policies are most effective.

Let’s start ...

The price of solar is dropping fast, opening new opportunities for community-scale renewable energy across the country.  But despite the improving economics and tremendously sunnier skies, the United States lags far behind Germany in installing new solar power.

The biggest difference is policy. The U.S. has two major federal incentives (a 30% tax credit and accelerated depreciation) for solar power, and a few state programs for solar power. Germany and most other developed countries use a feed-in tariff for renewable energy, a policy responsible for three-quarters of the world’s solar power capacity.

What might happen if the U.S. adopted Germany’s flagship “feed-in tariff” policy, responsible for 10 gigawatts of solar in just two years? Let’s take a look at how such a program would be priced.

First, we’re marketing-conscious in America, so we’ll call it something better, like a CLEAN contract, for Clean Local Energy Accessible Now.

Then we’ll need to adjust the ...

German rooftops about this size accounted for over 18 GW of solar that was installed there last year. German solar power has been very rapidly expanding, because it has generous Feed-in Tariffs that pay solar owners to make power for the grid. This is a sensible policy, as the prospect of earning money is what motivates people to overcome procrastination on solar, as Al Gore pointed out a few years ago when he went to congress and suggested the electranet. But the size of the systems with the most growth is interesting. As you can see from the graph below the jump, thanks to Paul Gipe at Energy Bulletin, it is not the small homeowner-sized systems that is driving this increase, so much as the next size ...

As of March 15, Ontario’s green energy producers will be subject to a new set of fees for applications they make for feed-in tariff (FIT), microFIT, and other renewable power projects. The province has a rapidly-expanding market for solar, wind, and other clean power sources that has created thousands of kilowatts (kW) of green energy and boosted the careers of workers in these industries. In exchange for the new Renewable Energy Approval fees, the Ministry of the Environment will streamline the approvals process in order to make it easier for businesses, organizations, and individuals to participate in this emerging area in the future. The FIT and microFIT are parts of a government initiative to diversify Ontario’s energy supply mix and to use cleaner forms of energy to replace the province’s coal-fired power ...

A total of 872 MW of new renewable energy will be generating power within one to three years in Ontario, from 40 newly-approved renewable projects, according to Energy minister Brad Duguid. Under Ontario’s Feed-in tariff (FIT), above-market prices are paid under long-term contracts for power generated by renewable energy projects. Ontario offers a generous 44.3 cents a kilowatt-hour for solar and 13.5 cents a kilowatt hour for wind power. The investment will have a negligible effect on individual bills, adding $23 a year (less than $2 a month) for a household using the Ontario average of 800 kilowatt hours a month, according to Bruce Sharp of Aegent Energy Advisors which also advises utilities, cities and businesses on buying power. The 872 megawatts is comprised of 35 solar projects, generating a total ...

Solar energy is more prevalent today than ever before. Worldwide, investors put more than US$1.66 billion into the solar market in 2010, with the United States, France, Israel, and Canada leading the pack. Of late, Ontario has ranked particularly well in the photovoltaic (PV) market, encouraged by government incentives, such as the province’s feed-in tariff (FIT) program, which launched in October 2009. These incentives have all helped the province’s solar market blossom, creating both more green energy and more demand for those with the requisite solar photovoltaic training. These incentives have also attracted a tremendous amount of investment, both domestically and from abroad, as solar companies scramble to stake their claim in the province’s booming industry. Calgary-based Enbridge Inc. just signed a multi-...

A 10 MW solar park is under development in Thunder Bay, Ontario as a result of a landmark agreement between SkyPower and Fort Williams First Nation (FWFN). The park is expected to be Canada’s first large-scale solar development on First Nation Land, when completed this summer. Using an estimated 45,000 panels on land leased from FWFN, the project will create enough clean electricity to power the equivalent of 1,000 homes and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by roughly 130,000 tonnes over the first twenty years of the project, “Our energy plan is creating jobs for Ontario families and is turning Ontario into a global clean energy powerhouse” said the Hon. Brad Duguid, Minister of Energy. According to Kerry Adler, SkyPower President and CEO, “We are creating high quality, good paying jobs and providing ...

Two solar companies, Unirac, Inc. and Canadian Solar Solutions, Inc. announced recently that they now offer a new joint solar package for their customers. The two companies now offer the 300 megawatts package, which consists of Canadian Solar Solution’s photovoltaic (PV) panels and Unirac’s solar racking systems, for either commercial or residential use in Canada. Dr. Shawn Qu, Chairman and CEO of Canadian Solar Inc. said that, “the partnership helps assure optimized power production in a rooftop and ground mount environment.” Both companies are very optimistic about the partnership as well as the future of sustainable energy. Ontario customers will receive the highest levels of system performance, and they can increase the return on their investment through Ontario’s feed-in tariff ...