Click here for release.

Highlights:

• 80.2 cents per kilowatt-hour for rooftop solar.
• 19 cents for offshore wind of any size (first jurisdiction in N.A. to set price)
• 13.5 cents for onshore wind of any size
• 14.7 for biogas under 5 MW.
• 44.3 cents for 10-MW-plus solar, sliding to 71.3 cents as projects scale down to 10 kilowatts.

The government will commence eight-week consultation process and expects to have the prices in effect this summer. More to come….

UPDATE: Here’s an article I just filed to the Toronto Star’s Web site. It contains more info regarding the proposed tariffs. Ontario introduced basic feed-in tariffs two years ago under its standard offer program, but project size was capped at 10 megawatts. The new advanced feed-in tariff program lifts the cap (though solar is still capped at 10 megawatts). It also offers higher prices for smaller projects, such as community-based wind and solar projects or residential solar. Most groups seem happy with the pricing with the exception of large solar developers, who despite getting a 2-cent increase to 44 cents per kilowatt-hour still argue it’s not enough to make projects economical (especially if you factor in poor Canadian-U.S. exchange rate and persistently tight credit markets).

Of course it remains to be seen whether this new feed-in tariff structure, despite being generous and being first on the continent, will be enough to attract investment, development, manufacturing and jobs. Curious to hear viewpoints on this.  Michigan introduced a bill last year that proposed similar advanced tariffs but it never got passed. Hawaii has proposed less ambitious tariffs, but Ontario’s will be first to go into effect and will be the most ambitious to date.

The mainstream business press, always eager to say “We told you so” and “history will repeat itself,” appears quite eager to announce the demise of cleantech and all the associated buzz it carries. The bubble is bursting, they say. The return to cheap oil will kill the green movement, they declare. They point to some weakling companies in the cleantech sector that are struggling, or to the dramatic drop in sector stock prices, and say cleantech’s days are numbered. A front-page business story today in Canada’s Globe and Mail features the headline: “Has the sun set on cleantech?” Apparently financial investors are giving up on cleantech and, like the dot-com bubble, it’s all about to burst.

Such pronouncements are getting rather tired. (more…)

Last week we knew a big announcement would be made, but this morning the cat is out of the bag.  Norway’s Renewable Energy Corp. said today it will build a solar silicon materials plant in Becancour, Quebec, and will invest at least $1.2 billion (Cdn) to do it. This is a huge announcement, and will create 300 jobs in the province. REC said it chose Quebec because it was able to negotiate a competitive 20-year electricity rate from the province. That, combined with the fact that a lion’s share of power production in Quebec is hydroelectric, sat well with REC. The company apparently was interested in lowering the carbon footprint of its energy-intensive business.

Good on Quebec for driving this deal through. According to REC, it spent 17 months screening more than 100 possible locations in 16 countries. It then narrowed the list to 40 sites before going through intense due diligence. Once a short list was established it engaged in final negotiations. Certain jurisdictions, like Iceland or Quebec, have an advantage over others because they are heavy on renewables — such as geothermal and hydroelectric — and aren’t subject to fuel price volatility. This means they can not only offer power for cheap, but can also offer a price that stays the same for 20 years.