I was originally going to explore GE’s smart grid ambitions in this column, but something else happened last week that was too frustrating to ignore. The province’s feed-in-tariff (FIT) program for renewable energy (as distinguished from the microFIT program for very small projects) was supposed to re-launch on Monday. After 11 months of waiting, the date came and went, another setback for the hundreds of manufacturers, developers and installers whose business plans have been placed on ice for nearly a year. It’s all very laughable, in a cry-in-the-corner kind of way. Predictability. Transparency. Stability. Accessibility. These were the words often trumpeted when in May 2009 the McGuinty government managed to get its Green Energy and Green Economy Act passed into law. . .

Happy to report that the re-election of the Ontario Liberal government last night means the province’s landmark Green Energy Act, which gave birth to the continent’s first comprehensive Euro-style feed-in-tariff program, has survived its first major challenge. The opposition Progressive Conservative party vowed to scrap the FIT program if elected and neuter the green energy legislation that has brought billions of dollars of investment to Ontario, thousands of jobs, and a new economic pathway for a province that needs to reinvent itself for the 21st century. . .

Sharing the experiences of Germany, Lehmann said the kind of green energy program introduced in Ontario needs to operate for a few years before the economic benefits – the true vision of the initiative – become more visible. “Then it explodes,” said Lehmann, meaning in a good way. . . What Lehmann brought to the discussion was the benefit of hindsight. Twenty years ago renewable-energy represented less than 1 per cent of German power production. Today this production sits at 17 per cent, and the aim is to reach 35 per cent by 2020. . .

Five years ago the thought of any company holding a solar PV jobs fair, let alone in a community such as Guelph, Ontario, would have been absurd. But since the introduction of the province’s feed-in-tariff program for renewables, combined with local content requirements, we’re seeing a flurry of activity as manufacturers and suppliers get ready for what’s expected to be a busy year. . .