Ontario outshines Sunshine State, surging to #3 in North American solar market

2009 was a breakthrough year for solar power in Ontario. A report by the U.S. Interstate Renewable Energy Council showed remarkable growth in Ontario’s solar market in 2009, pushing Ontario to number three on the list of states/provinces for installed solar power, installing 46 MW of solar panels last year. Only California and New Jersey installed more solar power, 212 and 5 MWs respectively. Ontario even performed better than the so called “Sunshine State,” which installed only 35 MW.

2010 is poised to be an even bigger year for solar power in Ontario. According to the Canadian Solar Industries Association, Ontario will install as much as 200 MW in 2010 (100MW have already been installed), pushing it closer to the top in North America. As a result, several new solar panel manufacturing plants have opened up shop in Ontario.

This massive investment in solar is driven largely by the Green Energy and Green Economy Act and Ontario’s new renewable energy Feed-in Tariff, guaranteeing the price paid to companies and homeowners who generate renewable power.

Thanks to Paul Gipe (www.wind-works.org) for the tip.

Sun rises again for Ontario’s solar industry

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.

Wind fills sails of Ontario workers

Earlier today, Siemens announced it will be opening Ontario’s first wind turbine blade manufacturing facility. The deal with Samsung C&T and Pattern Energy includes 600MW of Siemens turbines for Ontario’s renewable energy market.

Siemens management credit Ontario’s new Feed-in tariff (FIT) with the decision to open the new plant. The FIT guarantees the price paid for different types of renewable power, including wind power.

This announcement is part of the $7 Billion dollar deal with a consortium of Korean companies, including Samsung C&T, that was finalized in January 2010 to anchor Ontario’s renewable energy manufacturing sector and create 1,400 manufacturing jobs while opening at least four manufacturing facilities for wind and solar power.

While it is not yet clear where the facility will be located, all eyes will be focused on Burlington and Hamilton where Siemens owns or has owned plants.

Clouds looming over Ontario solar power

After receiving an avalanche of applications (over 16,000 in just eight months) for Ontario’s Feed-in Tariff (FIT) program, a new incentive for renewable electricity generation, the Ontario Power Authority (OPA) have proposed reducing the guaranteed price paid for ground-mounted solar power projects.

Frustration is building, and rightly so, with the OPA and the Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure over the surprise change in price. Currently, both ground-mounted and rooftop projects under 10kW are eligible for the 80.2 cents/kWh FIT rate. The new proposed category would reduce the FIT price for ground mounted solar projects to 58.8 cents/kWh (a 27% decrease).

As expected, the solar industry is overheating, but they are not the only ones calling foul. The Ontario Federation of Agriculture has voiced its concern demanding the minister restore the original rate as farmers stand to lose a considerable stream of income and have in some cases already made major investments. Today, the Ontario Environment Commissioner has publicly stated that Ontario's solar sector is being harmed by uncertainty around the microFIT. MicroFIT Action, a website dedicated to a petition on the proposed price change, has also popped up and a group called the Ontario Solar Network is hosting a town hall meeting tomorrow night.

The OPA claims that the current FIT price results in a higher than expected rate of return for ground-mounted solar projects. While their price assumptions could be correct, opponents to the price change argue that the process of setting the assumptions is not transparent. They argue that money has already been spent and contracts have been signed with landowners at the original price and developers expected to be rubber stamped by the OPA. They had no reason to believe otherwise. The integrity of the FIT program is itself being challenged as investors question whether or not the program will remain stable enough.

No one disputes that the FIT rates should be adjustable. In fact, FIT programs are designed to decrease over time as the prices of technologies go down. The Netherlands have an annual review. Germany uses predetermined regression in price and a periodic review. Portugal’s FIT price is linked with technology targets. Spain’s system uses a hybrid of these. Ontario was planning a two year review, but is changing the price abruptly at less than 12 months.

Ontario needs to stick to a program, not change the rules mid-game. If we do, people won’t want to play on our home turf.

Top Doc gives turbines a clean bill of health

A definitive ruling has come from the Ontario Chief Medical Officer of Health on the impacts of wind turbines on human health. In a report released earlier today, Dr. Arlene King, Ontario's Chief Medical Officer announced that “The scientific evidence does not demonstrate any direct causal link between wind turbine noise and adverse health effects according to a new report from of Health.”

The report (available here), was prepared with technical support from the Ontario Agency for Health Protection and Promotion, the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care and the Council of Ontario Medical Officers of Health. The study reviewed existing literature (from 1970 to present) on wind turbines and health from scientific journals, documented case studies and other sources.

The report came after concerns have been expressed by members of the public and municipalities about possible effects of wind turbines on public health. While the report said there were reports of perceived adverse health impacts, these reports were not documented in scientific literature and the studies had severe methodological limitations due to bias and lack of exposure data, to name a few.

Given this important new evidence we need to move forward in developing Ontario’s wind resources, while ensuring that certain guidelines are strictly upheld. All types of development, noisy or not, need to be planned appropriately. As with gas power plants, 400-series highways and skyscrapers, there are places where wind turbines, hydro dams and biogas plants might not be appropriate, but decisions need to be based on scientific and measurable standards.