The Canadian province of Ontario announced cuts to Feed-in Tariff (FiT) for wind and solar on Thursday March 22. Enacted in 2009, the tariffs have driven the province’s exponential renewable energy growth. Wind power in Ontario now has more than 1,750 MW of installed capacity and they plan to have 7,500 MW by 2018. Solar power in the province can now generate more than 200 MW. In 2011, Ontario’s generous FiTs also provoked a great deal of interest from international players.
According to the government of Ontario, the Green Energy Act has leveraged more than $27 billion in new investment and economic opportunities. It also has created 20,000 clean energy jobs.
The cuts to Ontario’s FiTs are due to pressure from conservative legislators, the cost of electricity and the steep decline of equipment prices in solar and wind. Rates are now adjusted annually to reflect current prices.
The government has expedited the approval process and made more funds available for local communities. Ontario is also calling for new strategies in other cleantech sectors like smart grid technologies.
© 2012, Richard Matthews. All rights reserved.
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