Of 16,000 applications received by Ontario Power Authority by July 2010, close to 14,500 were from farmers. It’s a perfect fit for them, says one installer
by MIKE MULHERN
Feed-in tariff (FIT) programs have been around since 1978, when then U.S. President Jimmy Carter implemented a FIT program because of a perceived energy crisis and concerns over pollution.
But, while Carter may have been first, it was the Germans who got it right, at least on the second pass. Their first law was enacted in 1990, then amended in 2000, and that was the beginning of effective FIT programs, including Ontario’s which looks very much like the German one. Another thing we have in common with Germany is that the most enthusiastic participants are farmers.