The Alliance for Renewable Energy

Status of FITs in Ontario

2013-04-15T13:37:16-05:00

Ontario Power System: The generation and distribution of electric power in Ontario is regulated by the Ontario Energy Board. The Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) manages Ontario’s wholesale power generation and sales market. The Ontario Power Authority (OPA) is responsible for power planning, conservation, and the contracting of generation capacity outside the wholesale market. Transmission and rural distribution is run by a provincial government corporation - Hydro One. Urban distribution is operated by a series of private or municipal owned Local Distribution Utilities. Large rural renewable energy generators are mostly connected to the transmission system while smaller generators feed into local distribution systems.

Ontario also has a competitive retail market for electricity so that individual customers can purchase 100% renewable power from retailers at a premium price.

Ontario FIT and MicroFIT Programs: The Government of Ontario officially launched its feed-in tariff in initiative in 2009 through the Green Energy and Economy Act – at the time the most comprehensive of its kind in the Americas. The Ontario FIT and Micro-FIT (for systems <10kW) programs are operated by the Ontario Power Authority and give priority grid access to renewable sources of power and set fixed tariffs under 20 year contracts. The FIT Programs allows any renewable power system, from the smallest household solar system to large wind farms, to connect to the grid and be paid tariffs that provide a reasonable return on investment.

By the end of 2012, contracts for over 9000 MW of new renewable power had been offered with more than 1300 MW in commercial operation – the rest under development. These contracts have already leveraged over $10 billion in private investment and resulted in significant new solar and wind manufacturing capacity and hundreds of new jobs in Ontario. The program has been so successful that the 2018 provincial targets of 10.7 GW of new renewable power producing 10-15% of the Ontario’s electricity will be reached 5 years early. Increasing grid capacity has become a major factor in rate of deployment of new renewable power systems.

The two original FIT and MicroFIT programs were put on hold in 2011 while they underwent their first scheduled price and rule review. The review report released on March 22, 2012 can be viewed at http://www.energy.gov.on.ca/en/fit-and-microfit-program/2-year-fit-review/. For a variety of reasons (see commentary below), the programs have been very slow at re-starting. A new MicroFIT 2 Program was opened in August 2012 with a target of 50 MW. A new “Small FIT 2 Program” window was opened for only six weeks in December 2012 with a target of only 200 MW.

The new Program rules give priority to community or First Nation owned projects, and those on health care and municipal facilities, through a series of “set asides” and a priority points system . An “adder” of up 1.5 cent/kWh will continue to be paid on non-solar projects for community and First Nations projects and a premium paid for biomass and hydro projects that deliver power during peak periods. Community power projects will also continue to be eligible for legal and project development grants under the Community Energy Partnership Program.

The new rates reflect the lower cost of solar and wind systems in 2012 – a sign of success of the program to date.

For more details on the new FIT Program rates and rules visit http://fit.powerauthority.on.ca/

Participation in the FIT program requires the payment of a registration fee and application security. Projects that require additional grid capacity are required to meet transmission/distribution availability and economic connection tests. All these requirements are waived for MicroFIT projects less than 10 kW. Both FIT and MicroFIT projects must meet Ontario domestic content requirements.

In addition to the FIT Program, Ontario is making major new transmission investment for grid expansions to accommodate increased renewable energy deployment and to develop a smart grid – see http://www.ieso.ca/imoweb/siteShared/ontarios_smart_grid.asp?sid=md .

Commentary: The introduction of feed-in tariffs and guaranteed access for renewable power sources in 2009 promised a complete change in the way power would be provided to Ontarians in the 21st century, with a new Ontario grid built around these renewable power sources. Up until then, renewable power sources had to be integrated into an existing grid. However, the government’s commitment to this transition in 2013 is not as strong. Insufficient support for community ownership in the initial FIT Program led to several large wind farms being opposed by local residents. The very success of the FIT programs also led quickly to grid constraints and renewable capacity outstripping the power planning process. The long delays in re-starting the FIT programs and the new short application windows have resulted in many renewable energy companies closing down and a struggling community power sector.

Hopefully, provincial targets for renewable power will be raised and a more stable feed-in tariff program established in 2013.

Sign on to a National Feed-In Tariff Petition

2013-02-07T13:36:32-06:00

Want a way to get involved supporting great renewable energy policy? Join the national FIT petition now and help put this on the White House's radar!

Sign on to the FIT Petition

Status of FITs in Ontario

2012-04-17T16:18:49-05:00

Ontario Power System: The generation and distribution of electric power in Ontario is regulated by the Ontario Energy Board and managed by an Independent System Operator. Transmission and rural distribution is run by Hydro One. Other distribution is operated by a series of private or municipal owned Local Distribution Utilities.

The Government of Ontario officially launched its Feed-in Tariff (FIT) Program - the most comprehensive of its kind in the Americas – in 2009. The Ontario FIT and Micro-FIT (for systems <10kW) programs are operated by the Ontario Power Authority and give priority grid access to renewable sources of power and set fixed tariffs under 20 year contracts. The FIT Programs allows any renewable power system, from the smallest household solar system to large wind farms, to connect to the grid and be paid tariffs that provide a reasonable return on investment.

By the end of 2011, contracts for over 4750 MW of new renewable power had been offered with a further 16,000 MW of applications pending. Of the contracts offered, 3165 MW are wind, 1332 MW solar, 193 MW hydro, and 63 MW bio-energy. These contracts have already leveraged over $10 billion in private investment and resulted in significant new solar and wind manufacturing capacity and hundreds of new jobs in Ontario. The program has been so successful that increasing grid capacity has become a major factor in rate of deployment of new renewable power systems.

The FIT and MicroFIT programs underwent their first scheduled review in late 2011. The review report released on March 22, 2012 can be viewed at http://www.energy.gov.on.ca/en/fit-and-microfit-program/2-year-fit-review/ and the draft rules for the new programs can be obtained from http://fit.powerauthority.on.ca/

The proposed new rates reflect the lower cost of solar and wind systems – a sign of success of the
program to date.

The proposed new Program rules also give priority to community or First Nation owned projects, and those on health care and municipal facilities. An “adder” of up 1.5 cent/kWh will continue to be paid for community and First Nations projects and a premium paid for biomass and hydro projects that deliver power during peak periods. Community power projects will also continue to be eligible for project development grants under the Community Energy Partnership Program.

For initial reviews of the new FIT Program rates and rules check out the following:
http://www.wind-works.org/FeedLaws/Canada/OntarioFITReviewReleasedBoldProgramtoContinue.html

http://www.cleanbreak.ca/2012/03/22/my-quick-review-of-ontarios-much-anticipated-fit-review/

Participation in the FIT program requires the payment of a registration fee and application security. Projects that require additional grid capacity are required to meet transmission/distribution availability and economic connection tests. All these requirements are waived for MicroFIT projects less than 10 kW. Both FIT and MicroFIT projects must meet Ontario domestic content requirements.

In addition to the FIT Program, Ontario is making major new transmission investment for grid expansions to accommodate increased renewable energy deployment.

The introduction of feed-in tariffs and guaranteed access for renewable power sources represents a complete change in the way power will be provided to Ontarians in the 21st century. Up until now, renewable power sources had to be integrated into an existing grid. From now on, a new Ontario grid will be built around these renewable power sources.

For more on renewable energy issues in Canada visit the Canadian Renewable Energy Alliance at http://new.canrea.ca/site