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Ontario looking to reduce microFIT price?

July 13, 2010  By Dave Harrison


July 13,
2010, Guelph, Ont. – Ag Energy Co-operative is urging everyone in the
agricultural community to lean hard on their local MPP to strike down
the
proposal by the Ontario Power Authority (OPA) to reduce the contract
price by
27 per cent for microFIT ground-mounted solar systems.


July 13,
2010, Guelph, Ont. – Ag Energy Co-operative is urging everyone in the
agricultural community to lean hard on their local MPP to strike down the
proposal by the Ontario Power Authority (OPA) to reduce the contract price by
27 per cent for microFIT ground-mounted solar systems.

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This
announcement comes less than a year after the launch of the OPA’s program, and
well before the true extent of participation by small generators can be
accurately assessed.

“It is
simply unjust to those who followed the prescribed rules, performed due
diligence and outlaid capital, to be denied the price that inspired the
stimulus without warning,” says Ag Energy CEO Mike Bouk. “Most of all, though,
the decision is not well founded,”

Ag Energy
president William Ravensbergen adds that the proposal “undermines the
credibility of the entire program, not just ground mount microFIT solar
projects. It also ignores the savings resulting from there being no need for
the construction of new distribution and transmission lines for such systems.”

Ag Energy is
asking farmers to lobby Premier Dalton McGuinty, their local MPP, the Ministry
of Energy and Infrastructure
, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural
Affairs
, and the Ontario Power Authority, to honour all applications received
to date at the original 80.2 cents/kWh. It’s also asking the government to consider
the effect of this latest proposal on all stakeholders, current and future,
including those who stand to lose jobs and/or an opportunity to invest, when
finalizing any decisions on this matter.

Ag Energy
Co-operative is an independent, farmer-owned co-operative formed in 1988 to
provide energy products and services to its members and customers within
Ontario agriculture. It represents half of the natural gas and one-third of the
electricity consumed by Ontario agriculture.


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