• A review of FIT rates to balance the interests of rate payers while at the same time encourage clean energy investment
• A review of new technologies for possible inclusion in the program
• Assessment of government’s processes; how they can better establish Ontario as a leader in the green economy
• A review of the Renewable Energy Approval process

What Does This Mean for You?

If you already have a MicroFIT contract, a conditional offer or applied on or before August 31st, 2011 then it means nothing for you. If you applied after August 31st or are applying now then you will be “subject to new rules and pricing”.

Get your Application in NOW

The announcement is clear that all applications being recieved now will be time stamped and processed after the two-year review is complete and changes are announced on December 14th, 2011.

Of course there is no way of telling what the new rules will be – but it is almost certain that the current rate of 80.2 cents for roof mount solar PV systems will be coming down. I suspect that after December 14th the government will announce that all applications that have been recieved will be honoured at the 80.2 cent rate but that all new applications after December 14th, 2011 will have a new lower rate.

Sooooo… you need to get you application in now and hold your spot. (Thank goodness my wife and I just did, whew!)

If I’m wrong and the OPA does not honour the old rate then you still have an application in the system and you can then decide whether or not to go ahead based on the new rate. Either way NOW is the time to put your application in to get your solar project started.

As I have said before I work with Solar Logix and we have helped thousands of people submit MicroFIT applications. If you want to submit your application now click here to send me an email.

Make Your Voice Heard!

There are several ways that you can make your opinion heard and find out more:

1. The OPA is holding a webinar with more information about the MicroFIT review tomorrow (Tuesday November 2nd at 10am). To register and participate in the webinar you must register here.

I am going to attend this webinar, and I’ll be blogging about it to keep you in the loop.

2. You can also complete a survey the OPA has set up for feedback on the FIT program by going to the website of the Ontario Ministry of Energy and clicking on the link “Click here to take the survey” (it is about half way down the page).

Stay informed to get the most of this awesome solar energy program in Ontario!

OPA MicroFIT Application

There are two applications that must both be approved before your MicroFIT program can move forward.

1. The Ontario Power Authority – If approved, the OPA application if approved will result in a conditional offer. This offer will convert to your 20 year contract with the OPA once your project is connected to the power grid.

2. A Connection Agreement from your local hydro company (in our case Horizon Utilities) – It confirms that the hydro company is ready and able to connect your system to the power grid. (Here is a sample of a conditional offer from the OPA website.)

It is possible to apply for these both yourself; however, the process is difficult to navigate if you are not familiar with all the ins and outs. Working with a solar installer that has submitted thousands of applications will speed up and simplify the process.

That’s what we did. We filled out a couple of simple forms and authorized our chosen installer, Solar Logix to handle our application on our behalf. It was quick and easy and the only things we had to find was our hydro account number and the legal description of our property (from our tax bill).

Solar Logix is now working with the OPA and our local hydro company to see this project through, they will also handle all permits and schedule all required inspections and hook ups.

Typically it takes about 6 – 8 weeks to get the above approvals. While we wait, Solar Logix will be working on our feasibility study which will give us all the details about our property, the system they recommend and the revenue we can expect from our specific solar installation. Look for more on the feasibility study soon at this blog; it is scheduled for next week!

We the plunge and committed to the Canadian government’s ecoENERGY Retrofit homes program in a big way. As you can see from our previous posts in this blog, we had an eco audit and based on those recommendations we added more insulation, replaced windows and doors and upgraded to a high efficiency furnace and air conditioner.

By doing this we have accomplished what we set out to do:

1. Lower energy consumption (i.e. our September 2011 energy usage was 30% lower than 2010).

2. Increased the resale value of our home by having an EnergyStar rating of 79 (vs. 61 before we start renovated) which is very good for an older home we are told.

3. Maximized government rebates available (total rebates totaled more than $7,000).

The OPA solar program installs panels on your home's rooftop

Now we are moving on to a new eco-adventure in the form of solar power!!

Not only will we be installing solar panels on our roof but I have just started working for one of Ontario’s biggest and most experienced solar installation companies, SolarLogix.

SolarLogix designs, install and maintain roof top and ground mount solar arrays under the Ontario Power Authority’s MicroFIT program, which is:

• Establishing Ontario as the leader in green renewable energy in North America by encouraging individual property owners to install clean energy solutions that feed into the power grid and allowing them to earn 10% or more return on investment
• Is good for the environment
• Is good for the economy (creating tons of Ontario jobs, more on that in a later blog post)
• Is great for Ontario residents who choose to participate.

( Subscribe to this blog’s RSS feed (top right corner) so you don’t miss any updates.

So the direction of this blog will now change slightly. We will keep you up to date on our own solar panel installation as we go through the process, but we will also use this space to inform you about what’s happening in the green energy movement and what you can do to make a difference.

I look forward to your comments – both about solar energy for homeowners, but anything you read here about our own eco renovations!

Call me at 905-512-8500 or email Doug@ecorenovate.ca

• Canadian Renewable Energy Alliance
• Canadian Wind Energy Association
• Solar Energy Society of Canada
• Canadian Renewable Fuels Association
• Canadian Energy Research Institute
• Ocean Renewable Energy Group
• Canadian Energy Efficiency Alliance

My favourite website in a while – not just among renewable energy sites, but in general – is that of the Canadian Wind Energy Association – great look, easy navigation, great photos, videos, stories … and it’s all also available in French. (Only web 2.0 thing missing: where’s the blog?)

It appears there is a renewable energy association that everyone in Canada can get behind!