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Showing posts from March, 2017

cutting wind in Ontario

If the wind project is paid $0.08/kWh (the average tariff for projects in the province’s first renewable RFP)... The quote is from a 2005 document, Ontario Landowner's Guide to Wind Energy , produced by the Ontario Sustainable Energy Association. The Bank of Canada's inflation calculator indicates 8 2005 cents equate to 9.6 2016 cents. In 2016, Ontario announced new Large Renewable Procurement (LRP) contracts at 8.6 cents/kWh 5 wind contracts totalling 299.5 MW, with a weighted average price of $85.94/MW… Comparing the cost of industrial wind turbines in Ontario by the procurement cited in the 2005 report, and the one run by the IESO in 2016, there has been little change in price. In between these two procurements, over a decade apart, prices soared. There are no consumer benefits from the feed-in tariff mechanisms, introduced after the passage of the Green Energy Act.  Between the start of 2009 and the end of 2012 the government, through the Ontario Power Authority, contracte...

Can 20 year contracts be amortized over 30 years?

written by Gary Mooney, and reproduced here with permission. I contacted the Ministry of Energy by phone to ask if 20-year electricity generation contracts – e.g. wind and solar -- were going to be extended to match the government’s new 30-year amortization period for capital expenditures. The answer that I got back was: * There will be no negotiations to extend contracts at this time. * But generators will be offered the opportunity to continue producing electricity beyond the 20-year point, at the market price (or a negotiated price, not sure which was mentioned). This is consistent with Minister Thibeault’s comment, in justifying a longer amortization period, that wind turbines have a useful lifetime of 30 years. The idea of an extension of wind contracts will be a major concern to those living with turbines, as they have been expecting that the problem will go away after 20 years. And worse, if there are no negotiations now, these folks will have to live with uncertainty for anywhe...