Ontario launches wind, solar projects

LONDON, Ont. - With an election looming, the Ontario Liberals have upped the ante on green energy - pushing ahead 25 wind and solar projects for Southwestern Ontario.

The projects announced Monday will produce enough electricity to power a city the size of Windsor, Ont., with wind and solar farms stretching from Woodstock, Ont., to Wallaceburg, Ont., and from Forest, Ont., to near the tip of the Bruce Peninsula.

But the more immediate jolt with the Oct. 6 election nearing is political: The ruling Liberals say green jobs will save the economy and the environment; the Opposition Conservatives say the price of green energy is choking consumers and burdening business.

The London, Ont., region is ground zero in that fight, with 200 solar projects, more than 180 wind turbines and a pitched battle between farmers paid by big energy companies and nearby residents who say their health and quality of life have been harmed.

Agriculture Minister Carol Mitchell, the Liberal MPP for Huron-Bruce, has been a strong proponent for wind and solar, and a lightning rod for opponents.

"This announcement (will further) strengthen our rural communities by creating jobs and cleaning up the air that our families breathe," Mitchell wrote Monday in a news release.

But in Essex County, on a farm in Harrow, Ont., just 640 metres from a wind turbine, Collette McLean says Ontarians and their wallets are being taken to the cleaners.

Green energy companies are being heavily subsidized to produce power through Ontario's Feed-in Tariff (FIT) program, brought in by Dalton McGuinty's Liberals in 2009, she said.

The 25 new projects are the latest to be offered contracts by the provincial government.

"It's free money at (our) expense... How much longer can we put up with this as taxpayers?" she said.

The Liberals say new green energy is replacing dirty coal-fired power, but experts say that's only half true: Green energy reduces use of coal on high-demand days, but intermittent sources such as wind and solar can't be used to close coal plants.

Ontario Power Generation's Lambton, Ont., station near Sarnia, Ont. - its closing already twice delayed - is one of the coal-fired plants to be shut down in 2014.

The new wind and solar projects would tap into new power lines planned by Hydro One between Bruce, Ont., and Milton, Ont.

Ontario Energy Minister Brad Duguid described the benefits in a news release: "These projects will create more good jobs for Ontario families and provide new, clean power for local communities to grow and prosper. Our efforts are transforming our electricity system, attracting investment, creating thousands of jobs and building a better future for our children and grandchildren."

The projects will help attract about $3 billion in new private investment and keep the province on track to create 50,000 green energy jobs by the end of 2012, the Liberals say.

But Tory energy critic John Yakabuski says most new jobs will be temporary construction work and the bill to Ontarians will be enormous. A Tory government would kill the FIT program, he said.

"Were going to insure the family budget is protected from Dalton McGuinty and his expensive energy experiments."

jonathan.sher@sunmedia.ca

Green Energy Rules Make Ontario A North American Leader

New regulations introduced today will create thousands of jobs in the new green economy under Ontario's Green Energy Act.
Ontario's new regulations provide a stable investment environment where companies know what the rules are -- giving them the confidence to invest in Ontario, hire workers, and produce and sell renewable energy.

• A Feed-In-Tariff program, which allows individuals and companies to sell renewable energy -- like solar, wind, water, biomass, biogas and landfill gas -- into the grid at set rates.

• Domestic content requirements, which would ensure at least 25 per cent of wind projects and 50 per cent of solar projects be produced in Ontario -- requirements for solar will increase by January 1, 2011 and wind will increase by January 1, 2012.

• A streamlined approvals process and a service guarantee to bring developers greater certainty.

• Regulations for setting wind turbines certain distances from houses, roadways and property lines.

• A new Ontario Renewable Energy Facilitation Office -- a one-stop shop to help renewable energy projects get off the ground faster.

More than 50,000 direct and indirect jobs will be created under the Act. Investments in new renewable energy projects already in place or under construction in Ontario since 2003 exceed $4 billion.

Feed-In Tariff Program Two-Year Review

Ontario is launching its scheduled review of the Feed-In Tariff (FIT) Program. This will examine program rules and pricing to ensure the program remains successful and sustainable. The FIT Program, which launched in 2009, is the most comprehensive program of its kind in North America.
The province’s Green Energy Act and FIT program was launched in 2009 to:

• Make it easier and more efficient to bring renewable energy projects of all sizes online.
• Stimulate the economy and create jobs, making Ontario a clean energy leader.
• Help replace dirty coal-fired plants with cleaner sources of renewable energy, cleaning up the air, protecting the health of Ontarians and reducing the province’s environmental footprint.

Since the launch of the Green Energy Act and FIT program, the province has:

• Offered contracts for approximately 2,500 medium and large FIT Projects and over 11,000 microFIT projects have connected or are expected to connect soon. This represents enough electricity to power almost 1.2 million homes.
• Created more than 20,000 jobs and is on track to create 50,000 jobs by the end of 2012.
• Moved forward towards its goal of replacing coal fired generation by the end of 2014. Compared to 2003, Ontario has reduced its use of coal-fired power by 90%. In October 2010, the province closed four coal-fired power units, four years ahead of schedule.In total, Ontario has shut down eight of 19 coal units; the remaining units will close by the end of 2014.

For more information on the FIT Review process, please see the press release below and at the following link: http://www.energy.gov.on.ca/en/fit-and-microfit-program/2-year-fit-review/

Green energy sector cheers Ontario election result

(Reuters) - Ontario's renewable energy industry breathed a sigh of relief on Friday and manufacturers looked forward to a surge in demand after voters in the province returned the Liberal Party to power, albeit without a majority.

Shares in renewable energy companies rose on expectations of an end to an industry slowdown caused by months of uncertainty over the future of the Liberal-sponsored green energy plan and its generous feed-in tariff (FIT) scheme for renewable power developers.

The opposition Progressive Conservative Party, which had been well ahead in the polls for much of the campaign, had threatened to abolish the FIT program, which pays well above-market rates to developers of green power. They argued it was causing electricity prices to rocket.

"It is a good day today. Customers were holding back with orders ahead of the outcome of the election... Now that there is relief, people will continue with their plans," said Paco Caudet, general manager of Siliken Canada, a unit of Spanish solar panel manufacturer Siliken.

Shares of Sustainable Energy Technologies, a manufacturer of solar inverters, jumped 11 percent on the TSX Venture Exchange. Solar panel technology maker Day4 Energy Inc rose nearly 7 percent.
The victory by the Ontario Liberals in Thursday's election was their third in a row, but they fell one seat short of a majority, meaning they will need support from opposition legislators to pass bills.

Although the possible fragility of a minority government could have some impact on the renewables industry, "people are comfortable that the fundamentals are in place," Robert Hornung, president of the Canadian Wind Energy Association, said in an interview.

Ontario has attracted more than C$20 billion ($19.5 billion) in renewable investment commitments since it launched its FIT program two years ago. The largest single commitment is a C$7 billion investment by South Korea's Samsung C&T, which the Conservatives threatened to scrap.

Thursday's election outcome "allows us just to continue forward on the time frame that we hoped rather than guessing at what is coming down the pike," said Mike Garland, chief executive of Pattern Energy, which is developing four wind projects in Ontario with Samsung.

($1=$1.03 Canadian)

Ontario regulator gives utility more time to assess solar-power proposals

Ontario’s energy regulator has granted the province’s largest utility more time to deal with a backlog of solar-power proposals despite concerns from the fledgling industry that further delays could threaten green jobs and cripple investments.
In a ruling issued on Tuesday, the Ontario Energy Board agreed to give Hydro One a limited six-month exemption from meeting deadlines for assessing and connecting some small renewable-energy projects.
But the provincially owned utility faces numerous conditions, including monthly monitoring and an order to develop a comprehensive plan for dealing with the steady surge of solar applications. Hydro One declined to comment until it has reviewed the ruling.
The energy regulator’s decision stems from a two-day hearing in August that pitted the utility giant against the province’s young solar sector. The industry was born two years ago from the Liberal government’s desire to turn Ontario into a green-energy leader.
Solar and wind power producers have been guaranteed long-term, above-market payments for their energy. However, bureaucratic delays and grid-connection obstacles have stalled thousands of projects.
The Liberals, which won a minority government in last week’s election, will have to address these challenges as it also faces stronger opposition in the legislature. The Conservatives say green-power incentives are too costly and should be scrapped.

Canadian Solar Supplies 15 MW to Build the UK's 3 Largest PV Solar Power Plants

London, UK - Canadian Solar, one of the world's largest solar companies, today announced that 22,000 of its high quality and high performance solar modules were used by its partner and EPC project supplier, Isolux Corsan, to build the UK's three largest photovoltaic solar power plants. Under the euro 40 million project, three new 5 MW solar power plants were built in Langford, Churchtown and Manor based in Cornwall, for a total of 15 MW installed capacity.

According to a September report from energy consultancy AEA, Cornwall generates the most solar photovoltaic power in the UK. Dr. Shawn Qu, Chairman and CEO of Canadian Solar, commented, "We are proud that Canadian Solar was selected for this showcase project. Isolux Corsan is a great partner and we are very pleased to be working together and hope to expand our relationship further in the future. Customers and partners continue to seek Canadian Solar due to our experience in the project area, backed by our impressive module performance, quality and value. Solar panels continue to be the most popular of the renewable energy sources in the UK and we are really encouraged by the growth we are seeing in our UK business. The impressive scale of this milestone UK solar project is proof of Isolux Corsan's excellence and we look forward to continuing to work with customers, such as Isolux Corsan, to promote the expansion of solar power in the UK."

"It has been a major challenge for Isolux Corsan to build these three plants, 15 MW of power plants, in just 10 weeks. On top of that, we had the difficulties of operating in a country for the first time. The project met all the deadlines thanks to the excellent coordination between all the departments from within our organization and also the involvement of external suppliers. Canadian Solar has understood the way we work perfectly and they have adapted to it as if they were just another member of the team. I would like to take this opportunity to thank them for their close cooperation all along the line," states Jesus Rubio, head of the Isolux Corsan Photovoltaic Solar Team.

How Photovoltaics Work?

You've probably seen calculators with solar cells -- devices that never need batteries and in some cases, don't even have an off button. As long as there's enough light, they seem to work forever. You may also have seen larger solar panels, perhaps on emergency road signs, call boxes, buoys and even in parking lots to power the lights.
Although these larger panels aren't as common as solar-powered calculators, they're out there and not that hard to spot if you know where to look. In fact, photovoltaics -- which were once used almost exclusively in space, powering satellites' electrical systems as far back as 1958 -- are being used more and more in less exotic ways. The technology continues to pop up in new devices all the time, from sunglasses to electric vehicle charging stations.
The hope for a "solar revolution" has been floating around for decades -- the idea that one day we'll all use free electricity fro­m the sun. This is a seductive promise, because on a bright, sunny day, the sun's rays give off approximately 1,000 watts of energy per square meter of the planet's surface. If we could collect all of that energy, we could easily power our homes and offices for free.