Ontario Agriculture

The network for agriculture in Ontario, Canada

The Ontario government is changing the price they will pay for solar power -- here's what they have to say....

"To help ensure the program remains sustainable the OPA has proposed a new price category for microFIT ground-mounted solar PV projects. Ground-mounted solar PV
projects of 10 kilowatts or less will be eligible to receive a proposed price of
58.8 cents per kilowatt-hour (¢/kWh). Rooftop solar PV projects, as defined in
the microFIT Rules, version 1.4, will continue to be eligible for 80.2 ¢/kWh.


The proposed new price category will better reflect the lower costs to install a ground-mounted solar PV project versus a rooftop project. It will provide a
price that enables future project owners to recover costs of the projects as
well as earn a reasonable return on their investment over the long term."

The business side of me is actually pretty angry with the move. We are getting ready to file an application - taking the cautious approach. Making sure to comb over a number of deals to make sure when we lock into 20 years -- we don't get the short end of the stick. Now - because we have taken the time to do that (which they encouraged) we are out over 20 cents. After all they said the price wouldn't change until October 2011.

That said - I couldn't figure out how they were going to pay 80 cents to begin with. Although - 58 cents is still too high.

This all makes believing what government says pretty tough to do -- doesn't it....

Views: 1204

Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

Price has not been set in stone yet. Comment period is open for 30 days (or less by now). I have not yet found where to make comments but rest assured - we are working on it.
Point is though - the price will be dropping as it has in other jurisdictions. By how much?
Does 58 cents still pay well enough for the investor (such as farmer Andrew)?
I also can't find the place to send any comments.....it makes me wonder if they really want them.

Although, you will notice that they have had the time to already published these new 58c price points and the new 58c category.

They have also included a phrase that for RoofTop projects, that the building has to be 'pre-existing' to the solar application - ie you can't build a building after being awarded the solar project.... there goes a whole bunch of projects aswell !!

Watch the fine print !!!
Comments!! - Check out http://microfit.powerauthority.on.ca for July 6 & 8 Sessions and for comment instructions.

There will be a 30-day comment period on the proposed new price category. Please send all comments and submissions to microFIT@powerauthority.on.ca. While all emails will be read, not all emails will receive individual responses.

Comments also can be mailed to the following address and must be postmarked no later than Tuesday, August 3, 2010.

Ontario Power Authority
120 Adelaide Street West, Suite 1600
Toronto, Ontario M5H 1T1

Attention: Ground-Mounted Solar PV
we all knew it was to high to be true. The ones getting screwed are the people that have already bought the equipment and signed contracts. I know a farm that is putting in a biogas digester and OPA changes the rules almost by the day. OPA is a government body that doesn't like to do what the politicians have made manditory. Why buy power from everyone when you are used to buying from a couple of people.
Really?

Somebody believed something the McGuinty government said?
There's lots to be angry about in this whole thing, starting with the slowness of reply to applications. There's the issue of financing, which is difficult at best for a lot of people in animal agriculture. They could really use a little pocket change. People have gone through legal costs to arrange financing, spent time on investigating and researching. Those I know who don't have the money sitting around and arranged financing, are seriously considering cutting out.
The 80 cents is not a really big issue, when the sun is hot, and the air conditioners get humming, it costs more than that to bring in outside power at peak times, exactly when the solar is working best. I dislike conspiracy theories, but it seems like someone figured out that farmers in the province might be getting some cash, and put a damper on the whole thing.
I don't think you are not too far off Mary Ann.

The idea that the cost of rooftop panels are that much more expensive that ground mounted is outrageous. They should have known the costs before putting this in place, and made decisions based on that. If application numbers weren't so high - would they be doing the same thing?

All of the sudden - farmers are taking advantage of this is big numbers - and then get their legs cut from underneath them.
What kind of contracts did Farmers have with the developers...with this price drop - do people need to continue to install and pay for a solar project even though revenue has dropped by 30% ??
This is mainly for individuals who bought and installed on their own. Farmers who have a signed contract will still get the 80.2 cents from my understanding. It is the ones who, like has been stated, waiting to check things over with a fine tooth comb, that will be disadvantaged. The technology has not improved that much in the last 30 days to account for the big drop in price.
As with any government program - it will change... and not likely for the best.
The bigger projects (over 10 kW) will be on a different price structure (and much lower than 80 cents).

Graham Dyer said:
What kind of contracts did Farmers have with the developers...with this price drop - do people need to continue to install and pay for a solar project even though revenue has dropped by 30% ??
The truth is even though they are paying 80.2 cents it doesn't mean that is what it is costing them.
1. Distributed Generation, generates the power where it is needed without large power losses in the resistance of the wire ove long distances, I have heard that this can be up to a 30% loss from nuclear, coal or Hydro plant to your home
2. Job creation, part of the money put into the coffers to fund this program was for job creation in the much needed manufacturing sector
3. Dept repayment, Would you rather pay a larger Dept repayment charge one the new nuclear reactors that are built and once again 40% over priced ( that's a lot of money on a 20 billion dollar expenditure.)
4. Your Hydro is already subsidized, Would you rather have the subsidy or would you rather give it to the big businesses so they can pad their executives pockets.

Do you still think 80cents is to high
I agree with you Andrew. A 60 page agreement, I can imagine, has plenty of wiggle room in it. I can well imagine there will be more surprises in the future.

Many people questioned how the government can afford paying 80 cents to produce hydro only to turn around and sell for 9 cents.

When one looks up the definition of "ponzi scheme" and "pyramid scheme"....... one wonders if the whole solar bandwagon is a hybrid of the two.

Our provincial government shows little to no respect towards agriculture and the latest stunt amplifies the contempt they have towards farmers.
Why does the "Pigeon King" come to mind?

Reply to Discussion

RSS

Agriculture Headlines from Farms.com Canada East News - click on title for full story

Farmers with hydro towers lobbying for annual compensation

Believing the time has come for a change, Chatham-Kent farmers, along with the Ontario Federation of Agriculture, are lobbying for annual compensation for those with utility towers on their property. Bob Kerr and Bill Parks, who are leading the effort, brought a resolution to the OFA on the matter, which was accepted by the organization at its recent annual general meeting. The resolution stated that while Hydro One pays adequate compensation during initial construction phases, this does not cover the decades after, as landowners “continue to farm around and maintain the towers” into the future. “The annual expense caused by the easement should be considered injurious affection and needs to be compensated annually, for the life of the easement,” it stated. Kerr, who has a farm in Raleigh on Fifth Line, just off of Bloomfield Road, has four new towers, which were completed in the summer. “We can’t grow a crop where a tower is sitting,” he said. “They impair our operations. Our equ

Alltech warns of toxins in silage

Alltech says its testing has revealed a high risk that silage may contain mycotoxins harmful to cattle. For Quebec, 90 per cent of corn silage samples tested positive for zearalenone (ZEA), with levels reaching as high as 1,369 parts per billion and deoxynivalenol (DON) was found in 68 per cent of samples. T-2 and HT-2 toxins were less prevalent, found in 25 per cent of samples, but still pose a concern for livestock producers, Alltech said in a news release. In Ontario, 63 per cent of wheat samples contained DON, while 45 per cent showed the presence of ZEA. Grain corn samples also showed DON contamination, with a maximum level surpassing four parts per million. That poses the greatest risk to swine and younger animals, Alltech said. “Canada has experienced a change in weather patterns from last year, particularly of note the greater rainfall across the Prairies,” said Alexandra Weaver, global technical support for Alltech, in the press release. “As a result, there appears to b

Will agricultural weeds claim the upper hand in a changing climate?

Several years ago, a group of weed scientists showed that soil-applied herbicides are less effective against agricultural weeds in the context of a changing climate. Now, the same research group, led by the USDA Agricultural Research Service and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, has shown the same is true of post-emergence herbicides. Mining a 30-year database from 16 extension weed science programs across the U.S. corn belt, the researchers found variable weather significantly reduces the effectiveness of three leading post-emergence herbicides against major weeds affecting corn and soybeans. Chris Landau, post-doctoral researcher for USDA-ARS, said weather doesn’t matter only in the hours after application, but that air temperature and precipitation are linked with herbicide effectiveness days before and after application for the products and weeds the team studied. The researchers analyzed thousands of data points, including a broad range of weather conditions over 30

Oat, barley production estimates Bumped Higher

The 2024 Canadian oat and barley crops ended up turning out better than expected. In its final crop production report for the 2024 season on Thursday, Statistics Canada pegged the national barley crop at 8.144 million tonnes, a substantial increase from the federal agency’s September report which put the crop at just 7.6 million. Meanwhile, oat output was reported at 3.358 million tonnes, compared to 3.017 million in September. But despite the increase from the fall, estimated barley production is still 8.6% below a year earlier and potentially the smallest barley crop since 2017 at 7.891 million tonnes, excluding the drought-slashed production year of 2021. For oats, estimated production is up 27% on the year but still well down from the 2022 crop of 5.226 million. StatsCan’s September crop production report, along with the one released in August, were based satellite imagery and agroclimatic data. Today’s report reflects a survey of Canadian farmers that was conducted betwee

Chicago Close: Soybeans Up on Smaller Canada Canola Crop

Soybean futures ended higher Thursday, boosted in part by a downgraded Canadian canola production estimate. Wheat and corn also ended with gains. Statistics Canada today pegged the 2024 Canadian canola crop at 17.84 million tonnes, down more than 1 million from the agency’s September model-based estimate and 7% below a year earlier. The smaller canola crop sparked fears of tightening global vegoil supplies, which helped to rally soybean oil futures, strength that spilled over to soybeans. The soy market was further supported by the announcement of a private export sale of 136,000 tonnes to China. The weekly USDA weekly export sales report this morning showed bookings of US soybeans for the week ended Nov. 28 at 2.3 million tonnes, near the high end of trade guesses. January beans gained a dime to $9.93 ¾, and new-crop November was up 6 ¼ cents to $10.07. Wheat rallied on a weaker American dollar and reports that Russia’s winter wheat crop went into the winter in unusually poor con

© 2024   Created by Darren Marsland.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service