Canada's solar poster state Ontario will start a process of tendering 930 MW of renewable energy from solar PV, wind, hydroelectric and bioenergy sources in August this year. It will issue a request for qualifications by August 1, 2016 and launch the second phase of its Large Renewable Procurement (LRP) process.
The state has replaced its feed-in-tariff (FiT) program with the LRP, which covers renewable energy projects larger than 500 kW. The first LRP tender gave away 455 MW of renewable energy capacity to 16 LRP proponents. The second phase will auction 250 MW of PV, 50 MW hydro, 30 MW bioenergy, while the largest chunk will be wind power (600 MW).
The official release from April 5 stated, "Based on the results of the first phase of the LRP, it is expected that $3.3 billion in LRP costs will be removed relative to the 2013 Long-Term Energy Plan (LTEP) forecast, saving the typical residential electricity consumer an average of $1.67 per month on their electricity bill over the forecast period." The government says its clean energy initiatives since 2003 have created over 42,000 jobs in the clean technology sector.
The Minister of Energy, Bob Chiarelli, said, "By putting emphasis on price and community support, the next phase of renewable energy procurement will save consumers money by putting further downward pressure on electricity prices."
In March 2016, the first LRP awarded 455 MW, of which PV won 140 MW. The largest solar capacities were awarded to BluEarth Renewables Inc. and SunEdison Canadian Construction LP.
Under its LTEP 2013, Ontario aims to have 10.7 GW of renewable energy capacity online (wind, solar and bioenergy) by 2021 and increase its share to half of Ontario's installed generating capacity by 2025.