Ontario Power Authority awards new contracts for renewable energy

Ontario is awarding the next round of Feed-in Tariff contracts through the Ontario Power Authority (OPA). There are 40 new projects being announced, representing more than 872 megawatts (MW) of clean power - enough to power 200,000 homes, or a community the size of Burlington.

Contracts have been awarded for 35 additional solar projects, representing 257 MW, four wind projects, representing 615 MW and one water project totalling 500 kilowatts. Of these contracts, five have been awarded to community groups and one Aboriginal project has been approved.

Combined, these projects represent an estimated 7,000 direct and indirect jobs and approximately $3 billion in private-sector investment.

These contracts are the second phase of large-scale renewable energy projects to be awarded under Ontario's Feed-In Tariff (FIT) Program. Last year, the OPA signed the first 180 contracts for large-scale (larger than 500 kW in capacity) projects. 

Significantly expanding the amount of renewable generation is a key part of the provincial government's strategy to address climate change by eliminating dirty coal-fired generation by the end of 2014. The FIT Program's mandatory requirements for made-in-Ontario technologies and services also makes renewable generation a key part of the strategy to make the province North America's leader in green jobs and manufacturing.

A listing of the second-round FIT Program contracts is available on the FIT website, fit.powerauthority.on.ca.

In the coming weeks, the OPA expects to begin awarding more contracts for capacity allocation exempt (CAE) projects (under 500 kilowatts).