Ontario Power Authority awards FiT contracts to 35 large-scale PV projects

Mar 06, 2011 - PV-Tech.com

Solar power’s future in Ontario looks bright after the province awarded feed-in tariff (FiT) contracts to 35 new large-scale projects. The projects make up 257MW of the 872MW in FiT contracts that were handed out by the Ontario Power Authority (OPA) to renewable initiatives.

This is the second round of contracts given out by the OPA and will require CAN$3 billion in private-sector investment, creating around 7,000 direct and indirect jobs in the process. Last year, the OPA signed contracts for 180 large-scale (in excess of 500kW) projects.

“The feed-In tariff program is continuing to meet its objective to encourage more renewable energy to be developed in Ontario,” said Colin Andersen, chief executive officer of the OPA. “Interest in the program continues to be strong, and Ontario will benefit from the new clean, renewable energy that these FiT contracts will deliver.”

“Today’s announcement is another milestone in the success of Ontario’s feed-in-tariff program. With the addition of these new renewable energy projects, we are ensuring that more jobs and investments are coming to communities across Ontario as we build the clean energy economy and clean up the air for our children and grandchildren,” added Ontario’s Minister of Energy, Brad Duguid.

In the coming weeks, the OPA is set to award another round of FiT contracts to a selection of smaller-scale (under 500kW) developments.