April 23, 2010
By Paul Gipe
The Canadian Wind Energy Association (CanWEA) has called on the Ontario government to offer feed-in tariffs designed for small wind turbines.
CanWEA, the trade association representing the Canadian wind industry, have met with senior government officials and senior executives at the Ontario Power Authority (OPA) to discuss the issue.
Unlike its American counterpart, CanWEA has been a consistent supporter of feed-in tariffs.
Ontario currently offers two tariffs for wind energy: one for turbines on land, another for turbines offshore. In addition, the Canadian province also offers $0.01 CAD/kWh for community-owned wind, and $0.015 CAD/kWh for wind projects owned by Canada’s native people.
In North America, currently only Vermont has a feed-in tariff specifically intended for small wind turbines. However, several countries have included specific tariffs for small wind turbines in their feed-in tariff programs, most notably Great Britain.
In April 2010 Great Britain launched a comprehensive system of feed-in tariffs for projects up to 5 MW with six different tranches for wind turbines. Three of the six tranches could be considered for small wind.
CanWEA’s proposed tariffs are not unlike those implemented in Great Britain.
- 1-10 kW: $0.50 to $0.55 CAD/kWh ($0.48-$0.53 USD/kWh)
- 11-100 kW: $0.35 CAD/kWh ($0.34 USD/kWh)
- 101-500 kW: $0.25 CAD/kWh ($0.24 USD/kWh)
CanWEA suggests that the tariffs only apply to small wind turbines that meet the Small Wind Certification Commission standards.
- CanWEA Ontario small wind power point March 2010
- Advanced Renewable Tariffs for Small Wind Turbines–Presentation by Paul Gipe for CanWEA 2009 Conference, Toronto, Ontario. Includes a summary of feed-in tariffs for small wind turbines worldwide and a review of small wind program performance in the USA and Britain.
- Feed-in Tariffs for Small Wind Turbines Becoming a Reality–Presentation by Paul Gipe for ASES Solar 2009
- Advanced Renewable Tariffs for Small Wind Turbines: Presentation by Paul Gipe for the Interstate Renewable Energy Council, June 2008
