September 24 – New regulations introduced today will create thousands of jobs in the new green economy under Ontario's Green Energy Act.
Ontario's new regulations provide a stable investment environment where companies know what the rules are -- giving them the confidence to invest in Ontario, hire workers, and produce and sell renewable energy.
The major components of Ontario's Green Energy Act include:
- A Feed-In-Tariff program, which allows individuals and companies to sell renewable energy -- like solar, wind, water, biomass, biogas and landfill gas -- into the grid at set rates.
- Domestic content requirements, which would ensure at least 25 per cent of wind projects and 50 per cent of solar projects be produced in Ontario -- requirements for solar will increase by January 1, 2011 and wind will increase by January 1, 2012.
- A streamlined approvals process and a service guarantee to bring developers greater certainty.
- Regulations for setting wind turbines certain distances from houses, roadways and property lines.
- A new Ontario Renewable Energy Facilitation Office -- a one-stop shop to help renewable energy projects get off the ground faster.
More than 50,000 direct and indirect jobs will be created under the Act. Investments in new renewable energy projects already in place or under construction in Ontario since 2003 exceed $4 billion.