Ontario’s energy minister admits the site selection process for renewable energy projects was flawed, but new legislation to fix that won’t impact the proposed Big Thunder wind park.
Energy Minister Bob Chiarelli held a teleconference with media in the North to discuss the new changes to the Feed-In Tariff program. The new process will replace the existing program for any project over 500 kilowatts and requires developers to work directly with municipalities to identify where projects should go.
Chiarelli said they’ve received many concerns about the site selection process and hopes this new legislation will alleviate concerns.
“We’ve agreed that some of the siting issues were not adequate,” he said.
“We’ve had some major concerns and weakness on how we site the energy projects. Since I’ve been appointed we’ve worked very hard at coming up with solutions. The siting issues are the issues we’re trying to resolve at this particular point.”
Concerning Horizon Wind Inc.’s proposed Big Thunder Wind Park, Chiarelli said he believed the company was attempting to meet all the conditions in its contract.
He added that it will be up to the Ontario Power Authority if Horizon Wind meets all the conditions. If the Toronto-based company doesn’t meet the demands, then the contract would be terminated.
“One of the first things that we have done here for wind turbines is that we’re changing the assessment act to provide more revenue for the municipality by the way of taxation,” he said.
“I don’t know the details about the situation about Big Thunder in Thunder Bay. I do know it’s in the process and endeavoring to meet all the conditions. I can’t say at this point if they will or won’t meet all the conditions. We always encourage the developers and the municipalities to work together in terms of the specifics. I can’t speculate on the conversations between the two parties.”
He said contracts that are let but remain unfulfilled will remain under the old Feed-In Tariff program including the Big Thunder project.
The new rules will only apply to new projects.
