Details of proposed ground-mounted solar PV new calculations.

From John Cowan:

I do not buy into the rhetoric coming from Minister Brad Duguid on the new price rates proposed for ground-mounted solar units. In a newspaper story on July 15/10, Duguid uses a return of 20-25 % on the ground units. In another newspaper on July 16/10, Duguid uses a stated rate of 25-30 % return.  What paltering! The government hierarchy of authority saw a flood of solar applications come in. This is too successful, we do not want this, power plants could be idled back, and union members would be upset if jobs could be lost. Is this the logic for their “rational”? Let’s go with the most inefficient solar power unit with lowest output. Plus lots of urban homes do not have a suitable rooftop. This tells me that the McGuinty government and Duguid are not serious about green energy. They have thrown a monkey wrench into this program. I am sure that through the green energy act, OPA did not have returns of 20-25-30 percent projected for the solar ground units.  The people selling the solar ground units only predict a 10-14 % return on their units for sale. I am sure they are lenient with the projected rate of return for their units to sell as many units as possible. What hat did Duguid use to pull out the number of 30 percent?

I now have friends and neighbors with ground-mounted solar units with a .82 cent contract! Because I was leery of the projected return from the ground units and the high cost as I would have to borrow the money, I did not commit myself to sign up on the OPA web site until February 2010. At first I looked at a micoFIT lease with a company. I took the lease to a lawyer and he wrote down a dozen points for me to think about. That company lease would have been a leap of faith for me to sign. After talking to a company representative, this lease was not even what was advertized in the paper. My lawyer was also in the middle of a lawsuit for a farmer over being sued by the contractors of the solar company whom had not been paid for any of the work done for the ground-solar unit as he had gone broke. I am sure the legal lawsuits are just starting with this renege in the price for ground-solar units.

Where is the morality of the green act as a function of the government for the solar power projects and as the terms are performed, are allowed to change in a few months, not twenty years. I am still on the fence thanks to the McCuinty government flip flopping!