By Adrienne Baker, Canadian Clean Energy Conferences
The renewable power business is well established in Ontario but recent developments have opened up questions and caused proponents to examine the business conditions even more closely than before.
For example, experts are predicting that the Large FIT window will open in Q2 or Q3 this year but a lot will depend on the political landscape in Ontario. Ontario’s New Premier Kathleen Wynne demonstrated her support for renewables in press interviews during the leadership race and discussed the need to get municipal and community buy-in. Many developers in Ontario have been working hard to develop close ties with communities and municipalities over the last year in order to ensure local support for their projects. Some of the early results are promising but the agencies have yet to provide an overall assessment of progress on this front.
In general, the key question hanging over the renewable energy industry in Ontario at the moment is the need for guidance and clarity on what the next opportunity will be under Ontario’s Feed-In Tariff program and how renewables will fit with the province’s long-term energy goals. On January 18th, the application window for Small FIT 2.0 projects closed and according to developers it was a fairly smooth albeit rushed process. However, a number of questions remain unresolved with respect to how the Ontario Power Authority will assess community and Aboriginal partnerships under FIT 2.0’s new priority points system, however.
According to developers, adding community and Aboriginal partners to the application was a complex process. “The community and Aboriginal participation component created havoc and anxiety for many applicants,” says David Cork, Head of Sales and Marketing for Ottawa-based iSolara. “Adding a partner to gain points required a new legal name for the applicant which nullified any municipal support resolutions and/or structural forms which were in the original applicant name. Handing over 51% interest but retaining control in the new legal applicant should have been better documented – a how to do it right example would have saved many hours with lawyers."
Developers are also looking to understand how project opportunities are evolving in other provincial markets that are expected to come out with procurement strategies. Both British Columbia and Quebec are anticipated to announce Requests for Proposals this year. The timings are unclear however with British Columbia gearing up for a May election and Quebec’s recently elected minority government not showing any signs of moving ahead with its RFP yet. Alberta is also a key market to watch for renewables with the provincial government currently developing its Alternative and Renewable Energy Policy and the province’s deregulated market offering a unique opportunity for IPPs.
There are a series of conferences slated for the coming months in which developers will be looking for clarifications and updated assessments. One of the first will be in Toronto this April 2-4, at the 4th annual Ontario Feed-In Tariff Forum. Given the participation of representatives from the OPA and the Ontario government who are expected to provide the updates on FIT rules and contracts, developers are likely anticipating some resolution on the outlook for renewables in Ontario. In fact the prospects for renewables in other provinces is also on the agenda of the same event. A key objective is to offer a full picture of evolving project opportunities across Canada to help inform the decisions of developers, investors and suppliers.
The renewable energy industry in Canada is at a critical stage in its development and this spring will be a pivotal time for developers and suppliers to get together to discuss and develop the next steps in Ontario and beyond.