Ontario feed-in tariff program: three months, 2,200 applications, and more than 8,000 megawatts
Before I start this post, I want to make one thing clear: an application alone is an expression of interest, not a finished project. With that said, it’s nonetheless encouraging to see the flood of applications come into the Ontario Power Authority’s renewable feed-in-tariff (FIT) program since its Oct. 1 launch. About 80 per cent of The applications, which if all of the projects are built amount to 8,000 megawatts, relate to amount to 80 per cent wind-energy capacity, while 16 per cent of total megawatts are for solar capacity and the rest a combination of biogas/biomass and small hydroelectric. Of the nearly 2,200 applications received, roughly 1,200 are for projects less than 10 kilowatts in size, mostly rooftop solar. Already, 700 of those applications have been approved. (See power authority backgrounder here).
This is a great start for a province that has only peaked above 27,000 megawatts in its history. And these results exclude the huge potential for large offshore wind projects in Lake Ontario and Lake Erie, as well as some larger hydroelectric and pumped storage projects. Again, it’s easy to flag these applications and shout victory, but the hard work is ahead — getting these projects built and generating power for the grid, as well as getting the transmission built to accommodate them. At the moment, there’s only enough transmission capacity to accept about 2,500 megawatts, so shovel-ready projects in capacity-spare areas are being given top priority. If, however, we can get a majority of these projects online within the next few years that will be a major accomplishment as Ontario works toward its goal of phasing out coal power by 2014.
Tags: feed-in-tariff program, FIT
Tyler Hamilton is editor-in-chief of Corporate Knights magazine and a business columnist for the Toronto Star, Canada's largest daily newspaper. In addition to this Clean Break blog, Tyler writes a weekly column of the same name that discusses trends, happenings and innovators in the clean technology and green energy market. This blog is a personal project started in April 2005. It is not an official blog of the newspaper.
December 19th, 2009 at 1:57 pm
Hi, Tyler;
Can you please clarify your math…2,200 applications have been received. 16% (352) are solar. But you also say that of the 2,200 applications received, roughly 1,200 are for projects less than 10 kilowatts, mostly rooftop solar.
Are there 1,200 solar applications, or are there 352 solar applications?
I’m confused.
Thanks,
Rob
December 19th, 2009 at 2:14 pm
Good point, I made corrections in post to clarify. I meant to say 80 per cent of total megawatts is from wind, and 16 per cent from solar. There are more solar applications, but wind contributes more megawatts because projects are larger.
January 8th, 2010 at 1:53 pm
[...] a variety of rooftop solar installations, part of its plan to take advantage of Ontario’s new feed-in tariff program. Hybridyne makes its own inverters in Ontario, so the projects are expected to qualify under the [...]