FIT Program review

Two-Year FIT Review Report Highlights

March 26, 2012

in Albert Engel,Feed In Tariff Program,FRED SEES,Green Energy Act,Municipalities,Solar Power,Wind Power,Yadira Flores

The Government of Ontario released its Two-Year FIT Review Report late last week. Overall, the recommendations contained in the Review are to:

1- Continue a commitment to clean energy
2- Streamline processes and create jobs
3- Encourage greater community and Aboriginal participation
4- Improve municipal engagement
5- Reduce price to reflect lower costs
6- Expand Ontario’s clean energy economy

Highlights from the above recommendations include:

Price Reductions

Price reduction of 14.8% for wind projects to 11.5 c/kwh from 13.5 c/kwh.
Price reductions for all types of solar projects an average of 20.6%.
No Price reductions for water, biomass, biogas or landfill gas projects.

The above would be subject to the Aboriginal and community price adders.

A New Point System

As part of efforts to encourage greater municipal and aboriginal engagement, the Review proposes introducing a new point system to prioritize which projects will receive new FIT contracts.

Points will be provided to:

(1) Applicants with equity participation by local communities or Aboriginal communities; and
(2) Applicants with equity participation by public schools, hospitals and long-term care facilities.
(3) Additional points would be awarded for local community, municipal and aboriginal support. Project readiness and system benefit (for water and bioenergy) would also attract additional points.

It is recommended that a minimum of one point be required to be eligible for a contract.

Special Reservation of FIT contracts

Ten percent (10%) of remaining FIT contract capacity is recommended to be set aside (ie. reserved) for local community and Aboriginal projects with greater than fifty percent (50%) equity participation.

A Streamlined REA Process

The Review recommends streamlining the REA process by reducing duplication and unnecessary delays. This would be accomplished by making changes to the REA regulation and by creating a Renewable Energy Committee that includes senior officials from relevant ministries to help drive the progress of projects through the approval process.

The Review also urges MNR to update its policy approach to renewable energy development on Crown land. The goal would be to align the release of Crown land with provincial energy plans and programs as concerns decisions on where to make Crown land available for renewable energy.

Publishing Transmission Availability
To assist applicants, the Review also encourages updating and publishing FIT transmission availability tables after each round of FIT contract awards.

You can read the entire report here

 

Albert is an Associate whose practice involves all aspects of Renewable Energy and Environmental Law. He joined Foglers in 2010 after 10 years with Ontario’s Ministry of the Environment. He is a graduate of York University’s joint MES/LLB program and also has a B.Sc. in Biology from York.  He can be reached at aengel@foglers.com or 416-864-7602.

 

Yadira is an associate in Fogler Rubinoff’s Environmental law department. She joined the firm as a summer student in 2009, and articled with the firm in 2010-2011. Her practice is focused on advice and litigation relating to environmental approvals, including approvals regarding renewable energy, resource extraction and land use. She can be contacted at yflores@foglers.com

Tagged as: Feed-inTariff Program, FIT Program review, Green Energy Act, municipalities, wind

Leave us a note

Smitherman Recommendations for FIT Program 2.0

January 19, 2012

in Feed In Tariff Program,FRED SEES,Green Energy Act

George Smitherman, the author of the Green Energy and Economy Act, 2009, reviews the achievements and challenges over the first two years of the Feed-In-Tariff program’s implementation.

His recommendations include:

- Extend price transparency to all new sources of electricity generation.
- Implement an automatic price adjustment mechanism to ensure that rate payers can benefit from reductions in the cost of renewable energy technology.
- Provide greater transmission and distribution system transparency.
- Limit the size of new wind projects to 50 MW and provide Municipalities First Nations with the right to waive size restrictions.
- A minimum local ownership benchmark of 10% should be established in new FIT contracts.
- Co-operative models including those for farm based projects should be encouraged to develop.
- The Consolidation of Agencies (Ontario Power Authority/Independent Electricity System Operators/Hydro One).
- Scope existing Micro-FIT program and replace with nega-watt program.

You can read the paper in its entirety here. Globe article interviewing Smitherman about his submission here.

Tagged as: Feed-in, First Nations, FIT Program review, George Smitherman, municipalities

Leave us a note

Auditor General’s Renewable Energy Initiative Recommendations

December 19, 2011

in Clean Energy Dialogues,FRED SEES,Green Energy Act,Human Health

On December 5th, 2011, the Auditor General of Ontario tabled his annual report.  His recommendations regarding forest management included the following:

1. To ensure that electricity ratepayers understand why their electricity bills are rising at a much higher rate than inflation, the Ministry of Energy (Ministry) and the Ontario Power Authority (OPA) should work together to increase consumer awareness of the concept of the Global Adjustment and make more information available on the cost impact of its major components.

2.  To ensure that senior policy decision-makers are provided with sound information on which to base their decisions on renewable energy policy, the Ministry of Energy and the Ontario Power Authority should work collaboratively to conduct adequate analyses of the various renewable energy implementation alternatives so that decision-makers are able to give due consideration to cost, reliability, and sustainability

3. To ensure that the price of renewable energy achieves the government’s dual goals of cost effectiveness and encouraging a green industry, the Ministry of Energy and the Ontario Power Authority should:

  • work collaboratively to give adequate and timely consideration to the experiences of other jurisdictions and lessons learned from previous procurements in Ontario when setting and adjusting the renewable contract prices;
  • work with the Independent Electricity System Operator to assess the impact of curtailing renewables as part of its energy planning in order to identify ways to optimize the electricity market; and
  • ensure that adequate due diligence is undertaken, commensurate with the size of electricity-sector investments.

4. To avoid unintended costs arising out of changes to regulatory requirements and changes to supply and demand situations, the Ontario Power Authority and the Ministry of Energy should work collaboratively with other ministries and agencies to ensure that they are made aware on a timely basis of anticipated policy and regulatory changes.

5. To ensure that the stability and reliability of Ontario’s electricity system is not significantly affected by the substantial increase in renewable energy generation over the next few years, the Ontario Power Authority should continue to work with the Independent Electricity System Operator to assess the operational challenges and the feasibility of adding more intermittent renewable energy into the system, and advise the government to adjust the supply mix and energy plan accordingly.

6. To provide investors who have submitted applications for Feed-in Tariff (FIT) projects with timely decisions on whether their projects can be connected to the grid and to ensure that adequate transmission capacity is available for approved projects, the Ontario Power Authority should work with the Ministry of Energy and Hydro One to:

  • identify practical ways to deal on a timely basis with the FIT investors who have been put on hold; and
  • prioritize the connection of approved FIT projects to the grid.

7. To ensure that the provincially reported estimate of jobs created through the implementation of the renewable energy strategy is as objective and transparent as possible, the analysis should give adequate consideration to both job-creation and job-loss impacts, as well as job-related experiences of other jurisdictions that have implemented similar renewable energy initiatives.

8. To ensure that renewable energy initiatives are effective in protecting the environment while having minimal adverse health effects on individuals, the Ministry of Energy should:

  • develop adequate procedures for tracking and measuring the effectiveness of renewable energy initiatives, including the impact of backup generating facilities, in reducing greenhouse gases; and
  • provide the public with the results of objective research on the potential health effects of renewable wind power.

Tagged as: Auditor General, FIT Program review, human health, renewable energy

Leave us a note

Ministry of Energy announces Feed In Tariff program review

November 1, 2011 Feed In Tariff Program

As per the Long-Term Energy Plan, Ontario is requesting comments on the FIT program. On the table are topics including: – pricing – review of new and emerging alternative technologies – review of government policy and procedure – the Renewable Energy Application (REA) process outreach to developers and communities You can fill out an online [...]

Read the full article →