Ontario Strengthens Small FIT Program
McGuinty Government Creating Jobs, Supporting Clean Energy Sector
Ontario continues to champion clean, reliable and renewable energy by re-launching the Small Feed-in Tariff (FIT) program. The Ontario Power Authority will begin accepting applications today from proponents of renewable energy projects more than 10 and up to 500 kilowatts.
Recommendations from the FIT Two-Year Review and the Land Use Working Group helped strengthen Ontario's FIT program to better respond to community needs and to ensure its economic sustainability, including:
- Clarifying land use rules for ground-mounted solar projects proposed in rural areas.
- Encouraging greater community and Aboriginal participation in Small FIT projects by using a new points system. Applications with more community or Aboriginal involvement would receive more points and be prioritized over other applications.
- Setting aside megawatts in the Small FIT Program for projects with more than 50 per cent community or Aboriginal participation.
- Helping ratepayers by reducing FIT program prices by an average of 20 per cent for solar projects and by approximately 15 per cent for wind projects.
Quick Facts
- Since October 2003, more than 3,000 megawatts of renewable energy capacity have come online. By the end of 2018, Ontario will have 10,700 megawatts of power online from solar, wind and bioenergy projects – enough to power two million homes.
- Ontario has more than 550 megawatts of solar photovoltaic capacity online and has committed to more than 1,750 megawatts of additional solar photovoltaic capacity – enough to power up to 300,000 homes.
- The Ontario Power Authority has executed over 1,500 FIT contracts for new solar energy projects totaling almost 1,200 megawatts of generating capacity.
- More than 30 companies are currently operating, or plan to build solar and wind manufacturing facilities in Ontario.
- Since 2009, Ontario’s clean energy policies have helped create more than 28,000 new jobs.
Additional Resources
Quotes
“The Feed-in Tariff program is helping create jobs and economic opportunities across Ontario, building healthier communities now and for future generations.”
Chris Bentley