TORONTO, Ontario
Today the Ontario government announced the cancellation of 758 renewable energy contracts. The vast majority of the contracts (over ninety per cent) are small, rooftop contracts owned by farmers, schools, municipalities and First Nations. Any savings to Ontarians’ hydro bills attributed to the cancellation would be negligible.
“It’s preposterous to tie the cancellation of these community projects to savings on the electricity bills of Ontarians,” said John Gorman, President & CEO of the Canadian Solar Industries Association (CanSIA). “The folks who are hurt and angry today are the customers who were counting on saving money on their electricity bills by generating their own electricity.”
The move to cancel the small, renewable energy contracts—also known as FIT contracts—further undermines investor confidence in Ontario’s energy market. CanSIA estimates that half a billion dollars of planned investment will leave Ontario as a result and forecasts loses of 6,000 jobs in the province.
“This is not about big business,” says Gorman. “This is about rooftop projects that are owned by community groups. The folks that will be hurt are the installers and contractors and the engineers… the local guys, the little guys who have built up experience in building solar over the last few years.”
About CanSIA:
A national, not-for-profit association, CanSIA works on behalf of its members to facilitate and promote the responsible and sustainable growth of solar energy across Canada. CanSIA provides education and networking opportunities for members, researches and develops renewable energy policy options for different levels of Canada’s government and implements a broad range of communications activities on solar energy.
For more information, please contact Isabel Payne at isabel@cansia.ca.
Today the Ontario government announced the cancellation of 758 renewable energy contracts. The vast majority of the contracts (over ninety per cent) are small, rooftop contracts owned by farmers, schools, municipalities and First Nations. Any savings to Ontarians’ hydro bills attributed to the cancellation would be negligible.
“It’s preposterous to tie the cancellation of these community projects to savings on the electricity bills of Ontarians,” said John Gorman, President & CEO of the Canadian Solar Industries Association (CanSIA). “The folks who are hurt and angry today are the customers who were counting on saving money on their electricity bills by generating their own electricity.”
The move to cancel the small, renewable energy contracts—also known as FIT contracts—further undermines investor confidence in Ontario’s energy market. CanSIA estimates that half a billion dollars of planned investment will leave Ontario as a result and forecasts loses of 6,000 jobs in the province.
“This is not about big business,” says Gorman. “This is about rooftop projects that are owned by community groups. The folks that will be hurt are the installers and contractors and the engineers… the local guys, the little guys who have built up experience in building solar over the last few years.”
About CanSIA:
A national, not-for-profit association, CanSIA works on behalf of its members to facilitate and promote the responsible and sustainable growth of solar energy across Canada. CanSIA provides education and networking opportunities for members, researches and develops renewable energy policy options for different levels of Canada’s government and implements a broad range of communications activities on solar energy.
For more information, please contact Isabel Payne at isabel@cansia.ca.
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