Ontario: The Next Solar Hotbed? (More details on Ontario's feed-in tariff for solar)

[kristopher]

Ontario: The Next Solar Hotbed?

By Michael Bates

A little more than a week ago, the government of Ontario revealed the missing pieces of its Green Energy Act and the associated "Ten Steps to Green Energy." One of those steps - a feed-in tariff - has the potential to dramatically change the solar photovoltaic market in the province.

Originally announced in May, the act had been touted as groundbreaking legislation for the small but fast-growing Ontario renewable energy sector. Now, with the emergence of an aggressive feed-in tariff, some industry observers believe Ontario could be solar's next Germany.

Indeed, the province's feed-in tariff appears comprehensive in scope and bold in vision. The tariff guarantees specific rates for renewable energy delivered onto the grid, and participation can come from just about everywhere in Ontario - from farmers and factories to homeowners and large-scale power producers.

The contract term for the solar tariff, 20 years, is a measure designed to entice investors and, hopefully, open up a robust financing market for solar projects large and small. The certainty that long-term contracts bring to bear has historically propped up solar financing markets in jurisdictions around the world, particularly in Germany and Spain.

Moreover, pricing for the measure is generous, by almost any measure. Small PV systems (equal to or less than 10 kW) fall under what the Ontario Power Authority has dubbed the microFIT program. For these rooftop or ground-mounted systems, the feed-in tariff is set at C$0.802/kWh.

The tariff offers owners of other systems various pricing structures. For instance, rooftop PV installations ranging from 10 kW to 250 kW will garner C$0.713/kWh, while those between 250 kW and 500 kW earn C$0.635/kWh. The tariff for rooftop PV systems exceeding 500 kW is set at C$0.539/kWh. Ground-mounted PV systems greater than 10 kW but not exceeding 10 MW earn C$0.443/kWh...

More at: http://app.bronto.com/public/?q=preview_message&fn=Link&t=1&ssid=4262&id=fpel37kiw3njr4cz9tiz5e10fysgc&id2=79g12og10zc14uc4xu1583z0zfyki&subscriber_id=aqfjsxeqpgncvjbxchkbborfkmbvbbd&messageversion_id=ahxadkqxoishkejppfamhqjelgyebmh&delivery_id=airwknvqpfbveruebefxtzowotuwbjb


Note: This article came as an email teaser for the print only publication "Solar Industry".

http://www.solarindustrymag.com/page.php?2