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The Latest in All Things Ontario Solar
January 15, 2012
January 12, 2012
January 10, 2012
"On October 31, 2011 the Ministry of Energy and the Ontario Power Authority (OPA) launched the FIT Program review. Consultation began October 31, 2011, and closed on December 14, 2011. During this time, the Ministry of Energy received over 2,900 responses to the survey and through email, and are now reviewing these responses.
On December 16, 2011 the OPA held a management teleconference to provide an update on all OPA initiatives. During this teleconference it was noted that the Ministry and the OPA are working towards getting the FIT and microFIT programs up and running in Q1 2012, and that they would have more specific information on next steps in early 2012.
A report prepared by the Ministry of Energy and OPA will be presented to the Minister of Energy early in 2012. Updates on the program review will be posted on the FIT and microFIT websites as they become available. Although anticipated in Q1 2012, there is no specific date set for when new pricing and rules will be available." (Simmons Sarah, Chair of CanSIA's Ontario PV Caucus, January 10, 2012)
January 8, 2012
On January 4, 2012, Ontario Regulation 282/98 under the Assessment Act was amended to provide greater clarity and introduce new rules governing the property tax treatment of renewable energy installations. The amendments apply to facilities that generate electricity using solar energy, wind energy or anaerobic digestion of organic matter. The amendments take effect as of January 1, 2011.
December 20, 2011
December 19, 2011
"The Green Energy Act Alliance and the Shine Ontario Association have released a report calling for more aggressive targets for renewable energy in Ontario in order to put the Canadian province on the same footing as other world-leading jurisdictions like California and Germany.
The report - "Ontario Feed-in Tariff 2011 Review: More Jobs, Affordable, Clean Energy, and a Brighter Future for Ontario" - is being submitted in response to the government's two-year feed-in tariff (FIT) review process. Its goal is to ensure that new green jobs continue to be created, that Ontario residents be given more opportunities to participate in community renewable energy projects, and that FIT prices be reduced in 2012 for new projects to reflect the success of Ontario's burgeoning solar industry and the reduction in solar prices globally.
In addition, the report proposes that the government keep the integrity and critical components of the FIT and microFIT programs, while introducing a transparent and regular process to reduce FIT prices. Another target is to install the contracted but not yet built projects, better communicate the benefits of the FIT program and involve local communities.
Targets are also recommended to ensure that local residents and municipalities are given an opportunity to participate in local, community-owned projects.
"We are calling on Ontario to adopt aggressive targets for new renewable energy that will create a sustainable workforce while giving more Ontario communities the opportunity to develop, own and invest directly in green energy projects,” says Deborah Doncaster, executive director of the Community Power Fund. “Everyone in Ontario should have the opportunity to benefit from the FIT program. In particular, we are asking that 500 MW be set aside for community and aboriginal power."
December 18, 2011
"There has been a lot of discussion recently about the cost of electricity. Let’s set a few things straight.
The rising cost of electricity is not due to the prices Ontario offers for solar and wind energy. Electricity has been underpriced, especially the nuclear-generated stuff, for a long time.
Ontario environment commissioner Gord Miller, a non-partisan public servant, has shown including all subsidies given to renewables raises your electricity cost from about 13 cents to 13.2 cents per kilowatt hour.
Furthermore, he pointed out the costs for one subsidy given to natural gas and nuclear generation was five times the subsidy for renewables.
The July 2011 study from the Pembina Institute, Behind the switch: pricing Ontario electricity options, finds Ontario consumers would see virtually no relief from high electricity prices if the province cancelled its support for renewable energy under the Green Energy Act.
In fact, the study indicates investing in renewable energy today is likely to save Ontario ratepayers money within the next 15 years, as natural gas becomes more expensive and the cost of renewable energy technology continues to decrease.
Energy from renewables is the only logical choice for the planet as we move forward.
Even if it did cost significantly more, wouldn’t it be worth it?"
December 14, 2011
Enphase Energy released field data demonstrating the reliability of its microinverter technology. The data, collected separately and independently by Westinghouse Solar and SunEdison over a twoyear period from 2008 – 2010, show the reliability of microinverters is 45 to 70 times greater than traditional central inverters. This level of field-proven reliability allows installers and system owners to benefit from the exceptional system uptime that the Enphase Microinverter System provides. Also field performance study demonstrating that Enphase installations on average perform 8 percent higher than their PVWatts calculator predictions.
Enphase follows an end-to-end process, from development through manufacture, to ensure the reliability and durability of its microinverters. Each microinverter uses carefully selected components and is designed so individual components are stressed well within specification. Finally, units undergo a multi-stage testing process at the factory to minimize material or workmanship defects throughout the manufacturing process.
December 1, 2011
"A proposal to restore the ability of municipalities to oppose green energy projects has been quashed in the Ontario legislature.
The Liberals and the New Democrats teamed up Thursday to defeat the Conservative private member's bill by a vote of 45-32.
Premier Dalton McGuinty had promised to listen to the proposal, which would have given municipalities more say over new wind and solar projects.
The bill was aimed at removing a section of the Green Energy Act that stripped municipalities of their decision-making powers.
Tory Todd Smith, who introduced the bill earlier this week, said he was disappointed by the NDP's opposition to the bill.
But he said the party isn't giving up on the issue, given that many green energy projects are being built over the objections of local residents."
November 28, 2011
"Germany doesn’t get much sunshine. Its coastlines are not huge. Yet in the course of a decade, that country managed to become a global production centre for solar and off-shore wind energy and created more than 300,000 renewable energy jobs in the process.
Chris Turner, author of The Leap: How to Survive and Thrive in the Sustainable Economy, says if Canada wants a sustainable economy, Germany is the model to look at.Turner described the German “leap” into this sector through its “deceptively simple” feed-in-tariff program, by which people could generate green power and sell it into the electricity grid at rates higher than the going rate for electricity. “The genius of it was that it was really very simple,” Turner said. “All they did was to change the way that energy was priced.”
Germany boosted its share of green energy on its grid from 6.3 per cent in 2000 to over 20 per cent now. “Not only did the Germans put a lot of green energy on the grid, but they became world leaders in making solar panels, wind turbines, high efficiency windows and things like that,” he said.
Ontario’s feed-in-tariff program somewhat follows the German example and has also faced a lot of criticism. But Turner sees the problem in Ontario as being in the implementation rather than the concept.
Turner said even before the feed-in regulations, Germany had a “100,000 Roof” program that provided loans for people wanting to install solar roofs. That didn’t add a lot of energy into the grid, but as thousands of Germans got involved, “it was very effective as a social change agent.”
“The power of decentralized energy production has often been compared to the way that the internet has changed the way we think about telecommunications. It has gone from a one-way service to the omni-directional web we now exist in. That’s where you start to see the opportunities,” Turner said"
