Good news: Ontario Government hears public concerns on solar price change
A bit of background in case you're not in the renewable energy loop: On July 2nd, the Ontario Power Authority (OPA) posted a change to the microFIT program, the guaranteed price paid to renewable energy generators in Ontario. Much to the chagrin of farmers and solar power investors, the new price for small scale ground-mounted solar projects was 26% lower than previously listed. Like I said in my earlier post, clouds were looming over Ontario solar power, and key stakeholders were not having it.
Leading the charge was the Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA), the Canadian Solar Industries Association (CanSIA), Ontario Sustainable Energy Associationand the Green Energy Act Alliance. After several heated webinar battles, carefully crafted submissions and business models comparing installation costs, capacity factors, and debt/equity ratios, inundating the Ontario Power Authority, it was feared that the Ontario solar industry would be taking a big hit.
Today, following the 30-day consultation period, the government has decided to keep the original price for applications in the queue, but set up a new category for small solar power projects installed on the ground.
That sound you hear is a shared sigh of relief from the thousands of people currently waiting to hear back about their contracts or who want to build solar power, and the tens of thousands of people who will be employed in renewable energy industries. Congratulations and thanks for listening Minister Duguid and the OPA.
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