CanREA

On September 24, 2009, the Ontario government officially launched its Feed-in Tariff (FIT) Program – the most comprehensive of its kind in the Americas. The Ontario Power Authority FIT program (and Micro-FITprogram for systems <10kW) give priority grid access to renewable sources of power and set fixed tariffs under 20 year contracts. TheFIT Programs allows any renewable power system, from the smallest household solar system to large wind farms, to connect to the grid and be paid tariffs that provide a reasonable return on investment.

By the end of 2011, contracts for over 4750 MW of new renewable power had been offered with a further 16,000 MW of applications pending. Of  the contracts offered, 3165 MW are wind, 1332 MW solar, 193 MW hydro, and 63 MW bio-energy. These contracts have already leveraged over $10 billion in private investment and resulted in significant new solar and wind manufacturing capacity and hundreds of new jobs in Ontario. The program has been so successful that increasing grid capacity has become a major factor in rate of deployment of new renewable power systems.

For the latest on the Ontario Power AuthorityFITand MicroFIT programs please visit http://fit.powerauthority.on.ca/what-feed-tariff-program.

 The Ontario feed-in tariffs are set under the powers of Ontario Bill 150, the Green Energy Act which was passed into law onMay 14, 2009. The original feed-in tariffs set in 2009 were as follows:

• 13.5 cents / kWh for on-shore wind
• 19.0 cents / kWh for off-shore wind (currently not eligible)
• 44.3 – 80.2 cents / kWh for solar,
• 12.2 – 13.1 cents /kWh for hydro, and 
• 13.5 - 19.0 cents / kWh for biogas and biomass.

An “adder” of up 1.5 cent/kWh was paid for community and First Nations projects and a premium paid for biomass and hydro projects that deliver power during peak periods. Community power projects are also eligible for project development grants under the Community Energy Partnership Program (CEPP).

The FIT and MicroFIT programs are currently undergoing their first scheduled review. New rates expected in early 2012 will reflect the lower cost of solar and wind systems – a sign of success of the program to date. Program rules may also be changed to give priority to community owner projects over the next two years. One of the downsides of the first two years of the program was the predominance of private industrial wind power projects that raised local resistance.  

Participation in the FIT program requires the payment of a registration fee and application security. Projects that require additional grid capacity are required to meet transmission/distribution availability and economic connection tests. All these requirements are waived for MicroFIT projects less than 10 kW. Both FITand MicroFIT projects must meet Ontario domestic content requirements.

In addition to the FIT Program, Ontario is making major new transmission investment for grid expansions to accommodate increased renewable energy deployment.

The introduction of feed-in tariffs and guaranteed access for renewable power sources represents a complete change in the way power will be provided to Ontarians in the 21st century. Up until now, renewable power sources had to be integrated into an existing grid. From now on, a new Ontario grid will be built around these renewable power sources.