One of the challenges with fixed-price offerings is finding the right prices. Too low and nothing happens, too high and ratepayers take the hit.
The City of Palo Alto Utilities is proposing a solar FIT, but with an innovative twist.
The program is for 4 MW of solar resources in 2012,
Since passing the Green Energy Act last year, Ontario has tried to position itself as the leader for clean energy in Canada, North America, and around the world. One of the highlights of the Green Energy Act is the feed-in-tariff (FIT) program, which allows clean energy developers to create renewable energy projects and sell the electricity back to the grid. Ontario’s current
Southern California Edison has had a voluntary Renewable Standard Offer Program for the past several years–a fixed-price offer to buy renewable energy from systems under 20 MW in size, with the price set at the Market Price Referent (MPR). It’s not a FIT per se, as it is not ‘must take’, but a standard fixed-price offer nonetheless.
In 2009, SCE contracted for 140 MW of PV.
Thanks to the Green Energy Act, Ontario is rapidly becoming the leading solar energy producer in North America. Canada’s first fully operational large scale solar installation, in Stone Mills, Ontario, began to produce clean power last fall, and two more sites are now slated for construction.
First Light Solar Park, the 48-hectare site
David Orazietti, Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) for Sault Ste. Marie, announced last month the approval by the Ontario provincial government of a $1,875,000 loan to Heliene Canada to launch a solar module manufacturing plant in the city. The financing is in accordance with the Green Energy Act – an ambitious bill designed to create a sustainable electricity system in the Canadian province. The loan will be disbursed to Heliene Canada through the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation (NOHFC).