Partners in Skills Development for the Green Economy, an initiative dedicated to promoting greater solar technology adoption, recently received over half a million dollars at an event hosted by the Ontario Trillium Foundation (OTF) on July 6th. The OTF created the Future Fund in 2007, which helps create renewable energy opportunities and promote environmental awareness within the province.
Partners in Skills Development was one of four community projects to receive grant money from the fund. The project is operated by Youth Employment Assistance Headquarters, Inc., and its purpose is to establish training and project development within Leeds-Grenville’s solar industry. Partners in Skills Development was awarded $503,300 of the $2 million set aside by the fund, to be spread out over three years.
OTF is one of the country’s largest charitable grant-giving organizations. Its mission is to “strengthen the capacity of the voluntary sector through investments in community-based initiatives.” The foundation has granted money to thousands of organizations in its twenty-seven-year history.
Canadian Programs Attract Solar Investment
The Future Fund is just one of a long list of incentives and programs available to help Canadian solar and other green power projects gain a foothold in the new energy economy. The Ontario solar industry in particular is becoming a major player. The province offers tax relief to companies who manufacture and install solar panels, wind turbines, and other components related to renewable energy. Perhaps the biggest boon to Ontario’s emerging green energy industry is the Ontario Power Authority’s feed-in-tariff (FIT) program - an incentive granting lucrative twenty-year contracts to clean energy producers provided that a certain percentage of labour and materials is acquired from within the province. The highest incentives and the most stringent domestic sourcing requirements are for solar panel installations.
The Future Fund is set up to aid the province’s transition to a greener economy and to promote a new approach to green energy-related training. Such training is needed, as Canadian renewable energy providers strive to meet the demands of the many new wind, biofuel, hydro, and solar installations popping up throughout the country.
