Ontario's new Green Energy Act and the accompanying Feed In tariff
programs are unfairly penalizing our Ontario Farmers.
A significant number of FIT/MICROFIT applications to produce clean reliable energy come from Ontario Farmers. They have invested heavily only to find out that there are Major obstacles in getting connected to the power grid. All this while speculators, developers and big business (e.g. Samsung) tie up grid capacity with projects that may never happen.
The farmers are "shovel ready" and are stymied. We need to get these projects Fast Tracked.
The farm community is one of the pillars of our economy providing us with local grown food. What group is better qualified to Harvest the Sun? The fact a family farm business will benefit financially from generating clean energy is a Good Thing! That money will go back into the local community creating jobs and new opportunities.
As a supplier of solar photovoltaic equipment to the Farm community,
successfully completing both FIT and Micro FIT projects I understand the challenges they face. We need the Ontario Power Authority, Hydro One, local distribution companies and the Ontario Government to remove these obstacles. We all remember the blackout of 2004. A strong Electric Power Grid supported by small renewable sources is a good investment in our future.
Our farmers need to be allowed to succeed. We All will benefit.
Mike Moreton
Canadian Solar Installations
Dundas, Ontario p 905.921.9936
www. solar-installations.ca
Comments
While delaying these projects might "unfairly penalize" farmers, completing these projects would "unfairly penalize" not just consumers, but our entire economy.
Bad energy policy doesn't make good agricultural policy, and never will.
Stephen Thompson, Clinton ON
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Bad energy policy doesn't make good agricultural policy, and never will because Canadian taxpayers are represented in government by politicans not statesmen.
A politician is someone who attempts to gain personal advantages, most likely by scheming or maneuvering. Also, a politician belongs to a political party, and most likely is far more interested in the betterment of their party then that of the nation in whole .
On the other hand, a statesman is a person who, even, if they do belong to a political party, can put their party obligations aside and do what is in the best interest of the country. In a long-term perspective, statesmen who put the needs of their country before their personal or party needs will better benefit out nation
Speaking of politicians, the viewpoint in this article sounds like it came from a politician.....or at least from someone with a vested interest. No mention of how many jobs are destroyed by rising hydro rates. These solar/wind generators are supposed to be a small part of the total hydro produced, but at what cost? A million dollars/year or 500 million dollars/year. On the news they're asking to increase hydro rates by 6.2% or $1.86 per average houshold per month. This is playing with figures to blur the true picture. On our farm a 6.2% increase costs us another $1860 per year, and that is not insignificant. I also heard on today's news that the utilities have been fined $18 million for over charging on past due accounts, so now they want to (or already have)increase the rates to pay the fine. There is only one person that pays for all this and that is the hydro user/consumer, and I for one am really getting tired of all this baloney.
Conveniently not mentioned in the talk about the rate increase is that many farms have been converted to a "residential low density" hydro service and (there really is no surprise) the rate hike for this group is 10.75 % (it is 10.something I don't have the insert from the bill laying beside me now)so I guess the new 10% discount didn't last very long...... October can't come soon enough because if Hydro keeps going up like this we won't need an election, there will be no one left here to vote.
John Gillespie
Sorry Bub
your statesman idea wont work in Canada. Canada MPs have to follow party line voting or government ruling party fails and an election is needed. MPs have few free votes to cary out the wishes of their local voters.
Welcome to Canada
Although in principal the idea of clean, renewable energy is commendable, the economics are just not there. Ontario currently has a large surplus of generation and these new energy initiatives are killing the average person who is subisidizing the few who are trying to cash in on this current "craze". We do not need nor will we need, in the foreseeable future, these costly investments that are driving up everyone's electricity bill at a time when we are all trying to simply make ends meet.
I suggest that the "shovel happy" farmers get back to doing what they do best - farming. Yes, there is money to be made in this endeavour.
RA Brant County
there is not only farmers out there with solar. as you drive around there is lots of houses with no farm or land and ther in their back yards.
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Is it just me, or does anyone else have a problem with this headline?
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