Article Index
Ontario's Feed-in-Tariff program - what is still missing
Solar on farm land / Ontario content
What is missing / small wind
Tariffs
Assessment and comments
Change of control
Unilateral contract termination
Curtailment
All Pages

There are a number of issues critical to the shape of Ontario's Feed-in-Tariff (FIT) program where provincial government action is still required. This second article on the FIT program will address these issues. To jump to a particular section, use the table of contents to the right. To read the first article on the main changes to the program, click here.

Renewable Energy Approval (REA)
Perhaps most important is the final REA regulation. The Green Energy Act established a new approval process for renewable energy projects. A draft regulation prepared by the Ministry of the Environment to implement this approval process has been released and comments have been solicited from stakeholders. In addition, the Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) has published a lengthy paper on policy and procedure. Under current law, projects with different renewable sources have different approval processes, and require different groups of permits. As noted earlier, the Renewable Energy Approval will replace the approvals currently required from the Ministry of the Environment under the Environmental Assessment Act, the Environmental Protection Act, the Environmental Bill of Rights, and the Ontario Water Resources Act. Moreover, the Green Energy Act exempts renewable energy projects from the provisions of the Planning Act. The REA does not replace any of the approvals currently required under the legislation administered by MNR, and that is not likely to change, at least in the short term. In addition, the draft regulation has proposed set-back requirements for wind projects and definitions of rooftops that appear not completely thought out and which have been strongly opposed by the wind and solar energy industries, respectively. They will likely be modified. The transition provisions are also very important as many applicants have spent considerable time and money complying with the existing laws and it is critical that they not be required to start over.

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