On July 11, 2012, the Minister of Energy issued a directive requiring the Ontario Power Authority (OPA) to amend the draft feed-in tariff (FIT) 2.0 program rules and contract, which were released on April 5, 2012 for public consultation following the scheduled two-year FIT program review (see our Flash of March 22, 2012).
The directive provides clarification on, among other matters, protections for agricultural lands, adjusts rules regarding project location and provides additional detail on the priority points system. The directive also requires the OPA to remove a termination clause from the draft FIT 2.0 contract that would have permitted the OPA to terminate the contract for convenience at any time, and extends the voluntary withdrawal period for existing FIT contract holders to September 30, 2012.
Yesterday, the OPA posted the final microFIT 2.0 rules and contract on its website and announced that the final versions of the FIT 2.0 rules and contract will be available at the end of July.
The OPA also announced that the window for submitting applications for small FIT projects (≤ 500 kW) will open as soon as the final FIT 2.0 rules and contract are posted. The application window for larger FIT projects will open at a later date.
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