Ontario approves a motherload of green energy projects: 2,500 MW of capacity

[bananas]

http://www.cleanbreak.ca/2010/04/08/ontario-approves-a-motherload-of-green-energy-projects-2500-mw-of-capacity/

Ontario approves a motherload of green energy projects: 2,500 MW of capacity

The Ontario Power Authority, which designed and is in charge of administering the province’s feed-in-tariff program, announced micro and small/medium sized FIT contracts earlier this year totalling 112 megawatts. Today, it issued the big one: the awarding of 184 contracts for projects larger than 500 kilowatts. In total, and assuming all projects get developed, this works out to 2,421 MW of green-energy capacity.

Ground-mounted solar represented 76 of the projects and amount to more than 600 megawatts. Northland Power, a company normally associated with building natural gas plants, has 13 solar projects totalling 130 MW. Onshore wind projects number 47 and waterpower projects number 46. The Ontario government called this the “single-largest green energy initiative of its kind in Canada,” while environmental and pro-green industry groups called the contract approvals historic. No doubt, criticism will follow from the usual suspects who continue to crap on any green-energy programs.

Significantly, 264 MW worth of projects have been identified as “community power”: projects developed, owned and operated by Ontario landowners and groups comprised of First Nations and energy co-ops — in other words, not by corporations.

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The big surprise: a contract was issued for a 300 megawatt offshore wind project in Lake Ontario, near Kingston’s Wolfe Island. It’s sure to be a controverial project, but it represents the first time *in the world* that a power-purchase contract has been granted to an offshore wind project in the Great Lakes. It’s also the largest single approved project under this entire FIT round. Click here for a breakdown of the 184 projects.

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[kristopher]

1. Anyone looking for job? Ontario isn't bad if you don't mind the cold. K&R

[OnlinePoker]

2. As of the end of 2009, Ontario had 1085 MW of wind capacity

Of that, they averaged for the last 6 months of the year 27% of capacity, about 1% of the provincial total electricity used. If the same percentages are produced by the new projects, this massive investment will still only generate 3-4% of total capacity required today, never mind in the future as the population grows.

http://windconcernsontario.wordpress.com/2010/01/07/capacity-factor-of-ontario-wind-energy-generating-facilities/

[joshcryer]

4. Careful, discussing capacity factor can get you in trouble with some here.

Math doesn't help.

[bananas]

5. Wind and solar are growing exponentially

doubling every 2-3 years.

[joshcryer]

3. Does the natural gas company get a tax break for building clean energy?