Original Article published in the Cape Times
24 April 2006
The Ontario government has unveiled a vast, new
renewable energy incentive program experts predict will accelerate the use of
renewable energy in Canada
and create a regional market with implications for the global renewable energy
industries.
The
Standard Offer Contract, known in Europe as a
"feed-law" or "advanced renewable tariff", offers renewable
energy producers guaranteed access to the electricity grid at a price set by
the regulatory authority. This gives producers the contractual certainty needed
to finance renewable energy projects.
The
contracts are available to anyone, including homeowners, businesses and
commercial energy producers. The electricity produced would be fed into the
electricity grid.
In Germany,
adoption of the new policy has led to the development of 110,000 solar PV
systems, 2,000 biomass plants, 6,000 small hydro plants, 16,500 wind turbines,
and 45,000 jobs in the wind industry.
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