According to an announcement from the office of Energy Minister Dwight Duncan, Ontario has increased its planned procurement of renewable energy from 2,000 MW to 4,000 MW.
The Ontario Power Authority (OPA) will initiate consultations with First Nations and Metis communities, the renewable energy industry and other stakeholders to establish timelines and to determine how the additional power will be procured. The OPA plans to commence the process of procuring the first 500 MW by the end of this year, Duncan's office adds. All procurements under this directive will be for projects that are greater than 10 MW.
The announcement follows several previous measures taken by the Ontario government to shift to green energy, including launching a standard offer program and increasing wind energy capacity from 15 MW to 415 MW over the past four years.
‘This is great news for the renewable energy sector,’ says Robert Hornung, president of the Canadian Wind Energy Association. ‘Ontario is already one of the leading jurisdictions for wind power in Canada, and this will encourage additional investment in Ontario's clean and green energy future.’
