Solar PV Panels

Last week, more than 500 renewable energy projects received approval for feed-in-tariff (FIT) incentives from the Ontario Power Authority. Designed to encourage faster adoption of clean energy solutions across the province, these feed-in-tariff arrangements permit owners to sell some of their excess power back to utility companies, allowing them to actually generate revenue from their investments.

This first round of approvals only included projects producing more than 10KW of clean energy. However, the Ontario Power Authority has recently launched a microFIT Program for power producers who generate fewer than 10KW of clean energy from renewable sources.

Ontario’s Clean Energy Initiative Hits the Ground Running

Although this batch of 500+ renewable energy projects represents only the beginning of Ontario’s ambitious push into distributed, green power, the response thus far has been impressive. The initial FIT application process included nearly one thousand candidates, from which the Ontario Power Authority selected the current list.

Future rounds could see many more submissions. According to Brad Duguid, Minister of Energy and Infrastructure, “everybody is participating, from everywhere in Ontario, from farmers, schools and hospitals to large-scale retail and commercial operations.” Duguid went on to add that, “these projects will create a new source of income while providing new clean and green electricity in Ontario.”

How Serious Is the Ontario Power Authority about Clean Energy?

It is not just the number of projects that has been approved, but also the scope. For in addition to traditional industrial users and commercial clients, the list of 510 projects also includes farms, schools, municipalities, hospitals, and even a house of worship. Ranging from 10KWs to 500KWs each, the projects share an aggregate generating capacity of 112MW, which is enough to power 13,000 homes. Nearly 95% of these projects are dedicated to solar energy, with the remaining 5% focused on biogas, wind, and biomass.

Keeping Solar Energy Local

A key provision in the Ontario FIT program requires that a portion of all labour and goods that goes into these projects comes from local sources - a major bonus for solar manufacturers and panel installers in the Ontario region.

Already, solar photovoltaic training programs, like the Ontario Solar Academy, are gearing up to meet growing demand for qualified installation professionals. However, given the sizeable solar labour shortages that Canada is expecting to face in the coming months, it is unclear whether or not such training programs will be able to keep pace with the sheer number of renewable energy projects in the pipeline.