Ontario Government releases results of FIT Program Review

Here are some of the highlights from the review of the Feed-in-Tariff (FIT) Program published by the Ontario Government today:

Beginning this year, FIT prices should be conducted annually to reflect current costs - new prices would be set and published each November and will take effect on January 1st the following year;

The MOE's self-screening registry system, the Environmental Activity and Sector Registry (EASR), should be expanded to include small-scale solar (less than 500 kW) and bio-energy projects;

The commercial operation milestone for rooftop solar PV should be shortened from three years to 18 months in order to encourage timely project completion;

Set aside a minimum of 10 percent of remaining FIT contract capacity for local community and Aboriginal projects with greater than 50 per cent equity participation;

Enhance protection of agricultural lands by prohibiting solar ground-mount projects (over 10 kW) on prime agricultural land that contain class 1, 2 and 3 soils.  Expand protection to include organic and mixed soils and remove zoning exemptions;

Prohibit solar ground-mount projects (of any size) in residential areas and lands bordering residential areas.  Permit projects in commercial or industrial areas only when producing renewable energy is a secondary use;

For large FIT projects, require contract launch meetings with municipalities, proponents, project developers, government representatives, utilities and agencies to facilitate early discussion, share information and define expectations;

FIT program prices for wind and solar technologies should be reduced by more than 20 per cent for solar, depending on size, and approximately 15 per cent for wind.  Maintain current prices for water, biogas, biomass and landfill gas;

Rather than setting a price at the time of project application for small and large FIT projects, price should be set when the contract is offered;

Implement a limit of one microFIT contract per individual/farmer;

Following commercial operation, a portion of the FIT price should escalate with inflation over time (as measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI)) to reflect ongoing operations and maintenance costs.

Here is the new proposed FIT price grid:

Read the full review at: FIT Two Year Review.