The Government of the Province of Ontario announced in 2007 that it plans to close the province’s coal-fired electricity
plants by 2014 (one of which, Nanticoke, is the largest coal-fired plant in North America)  and replace them with cleaner sources of power.  To help achieve that goal the Ontario government has announced today the largest investment in renewable power in Canadian history. The Ontario Power Authority (OPA) is awarding over $8-billion in renewable energy contracts under the feed-in-tariff (FIT) program which pays premium prices for renewable power.  The OPA has approved 184 wind, solar and other types of renewable energy projects capable of generating 2,500 megawatts of electricity.  The projects include

• 76 ground-mounted solar photovoltaic
• 47 on-shore wind
• 46 waterpower including run-of-river hydro
• 7 biogas
• 2 biomass
• 4 landfill gas
• 1 roof top solar
• 1 off-shore wind

These projects involve first nations communities, major corporations from overseas, the
United States and across Canada. The projects are expected to create 20,000 jobs. In January the Ontario government awarded $7 billion in renewable energy contracts to a consortium led by the Samsung Group of Korea.  Since 2003, about 1,300 megawatts of renewable electricity has come online in Ontario.

Under the feed-in-tariff plan, companies generating renewable energy will receive a fixed price, 13.5 cents a kilowatt hour
for on-shore wind farms and up to 80.2 cents for solar power, over 20
years. The current market price for electric power in Ontario averages
about 3.4 cents a kilowatt hour. Energy analysts predict that residential customers in Ontario will pay 25%, or about $300, more for electricity per year by the end of 2011 and another $60 per year by 2012.