How Ontario is ramping up alternatives quickly

[greenman3610]

By setting a "Feed in Tariff", Ontario, like many European countries,
has set a fixed price that utilities must pay developers
of alternative energy projects. The price will
deline over several years according to a formula,
but provides solid planning base for investors in
Hydro, wind, solar and biogas projects.
In the first six months, the program has more than
tripled the expected growth for the whole year.
(for comparison, an average sized coal plant might be
500 megawatts, and takes 5-7 years to develop)


http://www.renewableenergyaccess.com/rea/news/story?id=48565

Before the program began OPA estimated that they would receive applications for 100 MW of capacity per year. It has already received applications for 330 MW of capacity in the first six months, which administrators estimate will translate into about 100 MW of fully developed projects by the end of the year. Most of those projects will be wind farms and small hydroelectric dams, although one of the goals of the new program is to diversify the renewable energy mix as much as possible.