In the wake of the financial crisis, high-yield bonds are all the rage in the investment community.  With many large organizations looking to pay down debt with rebounding revenues, returns on bonds are very attractive.  Savvy investment managers are confident in returns as high as 8% with a comparably low-risk profile.  These investment professionals are trumpeting these unique opportunities for strong returns from low-risk, income producing products which, while exciting options now, are a product of unique market conditions.

Interested in a fixed-income investment with low risk and returns that can often reach 8% but will deliver these returns reliable for the long-term?  microFIT solar is a great option!

For most homeowners with even modest dquare footage, a newly shingled roof and unshaded southern exposure, an uncommonly attractive fixed income option is available through a microFIT installation.

An Installation Offers the Following:

- Returns averaging 6-8%

- Tax free income for roughly a decade

- A home with low utility costs once the 20-year contract expires, a strong selling feature for a home dealing with 2030 energy prices

A microFIT solar installation is a great way to earn strong low-risk returns independent of financial market fluctuations.  Consider your options at ourpower.ca!

Dear Our Power Members,

Looking for Funding and Professional Advice on Building a Community Power Project?

Announcing Community Energy Partnerships Program Financing Webinar: October 6th

Community Power Project Financing Webinar: Is your Community Power Project Economically Viable?

Wednesday October 6th, 10 – 11:30 a.m. EST

Finance is important when developing a renewable energy project: developers have to invest, and likely borrow, a lot of money up front, and then receive “returns” over 20 years or more. They need to satisfy lenders and potential investors that project returns will be sufficient to justify building the project.

In this webinar, explore finance basics (including income, equity, debt, rate of return, and risk) and learn what requirements providing financial evidence you’ll need for your Community Energy Partnerships Program application.

To register, send your name and email address to [email protected].  Login information will be sent to registrants on Tuesday October 5th.

About the Community Energy Partnerships Program: You may qualify for a grant of up to $200,000 for your community-owned renewable energy project! 

Visit www.communityenergyprogram.ca for details.

 

There won't be an easier way to Go Solar this summer than to come along to the Etobicoke Solar Fair Monday June 21st 6 - 9 PM at the Fairfield Seniors Centre, 80 Lothian Ave (located 4 blocks south of Bloor West and 2 blocks east of Islington). The event will be a great place to bring your questions and get them answered by solar experts who have installed hundreds of systems across the GTA.

What's planned for the evening?

1. Meet Solar Contractors about an installation on your home

2. See the technologies first hand and get your questions answered by professionals

3. Attend an Introductory Our Power Solar Seminarat 7 PM

4. Sign up for an Our Power On-line Solar Site Assessment

5. Get information about City of Toronto Environment Programs

You will have the opportunity to talk to solar vendors, compare the technologies they are offering, have your questions answered and get your solar project started on the spot. To find out if your own roof is good for solar click here.

There won't be an easier way to Go Solar this summer than to come along to the Etobicoke Solar Fair Monday June 21st 6 - 9 PM at the Fairfield Seniors Centre, 80 Lothian Ave (located 4 blocks south of Bloor West and 2 blocks east of Islington). The event will be a great place to bring your questions and get them answered by solar experts who have installed hundreds of systems across the GTA.

What's planned for the evening?

1. Meet Solar Contractors about an installation on your home

2. See the technologies first hand and get your questions answered by professionals

3. Attend an Introductory Our Power Solar Seminarat 7 PM

4. Sign up for an Our Power On-line Solar Site Assessment

5. Get information about City of Toronto Environment Programs

You will have the opportunity to talk to solar vendors, compare the technologies they are offering, have your questions answered and get your solar project started on the spot. To find out if your own roof is good for solar click here.

TTC is piloting solar powered "next vehicle arrival time signage" at two shelters as part of a new solar signage initiative.  A flexible panel is attached to the roof, charging a battery under the bench, which provides constant power to the LED signage on the shelter.  Updates are sent via the cell network.  What a great idea!  The battery will power the sign for 5 full days without recharge, LEDs are very efficient!  We see it all over the roadsides in the GTA, on sensors and cameras and signage, why not on our bus and trolley shelters?  We applaud the TTC on this pilot program and encourage them to expand the project quickly.  Full story can be found here http://bit.ly/czCw31.

1. Ourpower Solar Fair 

There won't be an easier way to Go Solar than to come along to the Our Power Solar Fair Sunday April 18^th 12 – 4 PM at the Wychwood Barns, 2 blocks south of St Clair Ave. West on Christie.   The event will be a great place to bring your questions and get them answered by solar experts who have installed hundreds of systems across the GTA.

You will have the opportunity to talk to eight vendors, compare the technologies they are offering, and get your solar project started on the spot.  To find out if your own roof is good for solar click here.

2.  MicroFIT program popularity Continues to Grow

As the microFIT program's popularity races ahead it is ever more important to start your application now if you intend to install this year.  To read more

3.  3rd Conference - Canada and Germany on Solar Energy (free admission)

If you are thinking of going solar this summer come along to the Our Power Solar Fair Sunday April 18^th 12 – 4 PM at the Wychwood Barns, 2 blocks south of St Clair Ave. West on Christie.   The event will be a great place to bring your questions and get them answered by solar experts who have installed hundreds of systems across the GTA.

You will have the opportunity to talk to eight vendors, compare the technologies they are offering, and get your solar project started on the spot.

 For more information click here. 

To get a personalized on-line site assessment of your own roof click here.

The Ontario Energy Board announced the at the end of last week that the monthly account fee paid to distributors by microgenerators will be standardized across the province at $5.25/month.  With costs varying across the province from $7/month in Halton Hills to over $15/month in for Toronto Hydro and Hydro One customers, this reduces the costs, in some cases by over 65%, of selling your power to your local distribution company. 

The new rate will be made retoroactive to September 21, 2021 and all microgenerators are entitled to a credit for the difference on the next bill from their distributors.

On a 2 kW residential PV system, this will raise the ROI by roughly 0.5% annually!

Finally, a big THANK YOU to everyone who responded to our survey last week!  The results we received will be valuable for improving the Our Power service offering.

Hello!

Our Power is currently work with a Ryerson University Marketing class.  
We would appreciate your thoughts and feedback on the Our Power services and website.

This survey should take less than 10 minutes of your time.

We sincerely appreciate your support for Our Power and Ryerson! 

Please click here to complete the survey.

Thanks you very much for taking the time to help!

Solar Stacks Up Well With Dividend Paying Investments

Investopedia.com recently published an article on Dividend Paying Stocks in natural gas shipping and utilities that pay out between 6-9% annually.  For years investors have held stock in these sorts of organizations because they produce a strong income stream and have turned a blind eye to the industries they are supporting.

Finally an investment vehicle has arrived that delivers this kind of annual income stream without having to support fossil fuel infrastructure: A Solar PV system on your Roof!

A typical 2 kW residential solar installation in Ontario costing around $20,000 will generate an annual dividend of $1,744 or 8.7%.

Dividends serve a specific purpose in an investment portfolio of generating income and in this context, rooftop solar is a strong investment.

Additional Benefits

Low Risk Profile  - Your revenue comes from a contract to sell power to the Ontario Power Authoriy, a government controlled body backstopped by the electricity ratepayers of Ontario

No Income Tax for a Decade - You are buying an asset which, until fully depreciated, is not subject to income tax.

Free Electricity Generation Beyond Your microFIT Contract - While depreciated for tax purposes, in reality your solar system will be able to produce 80-90% of its rated power at the end of a 20-year microFIT contract and is likely to generate another 20 years of clean energy.

DON’T MISS OUT ON AN INSTALLATION IN 2010

Since the launch of the OPA’s microFIT program, Ontarians have realized that residential solar is a competitive fixed income investment and have signed up to install enough solar energy to power 23,000 homes when the weather warms up.

Here are two great reasons to join them and get solar installed on your roof in 2010.

-        Domestic Content Uncertainty in 2011

o   Domestic content requirements change on Dec. 31, 2010 and uncertainties surround the supply of equipment

-        Waiting for Installed Costs to Fall Won’t Change Your Return

o   The microFIT program is designed to deliver a reasonable return on investment so when installed costs drop, so will the price paid to generators

While the OPA has hired additional staff to deal with the microFIT applications, the timeline for contract approval remains at 60 days.

The sooner you submit your microFIT application, the better your chances of installing this year.

FIND OUT WHAT SOLAR COULD PRODUCE ON YOUR ROOF

Fortunately, as an Our Power member, you have the inside track to making a decision about solar easily, and with confidence.

An Our Power site assessment does the following:

q  Evaluates the How Much Solar Power YOUR Roof can Produce

q  Breaks Down 20 Year System Costs and Revenues

q  Quantifies 20 Year GHG Emission Reduction

Request a site assessment today!

TRIAL PERIOD FOR MEMBERS COMING TO AN END

To accommodate those who have been with us for years, Our Power has been offering its Customized Site Assessments, Phone Consultations and Referrals to Reliable Vendors free of charge.  On March 7^th, Our Power members will pay a $25 fee for this valuable service that will be rebated upon system purchase.

VENDOR DIRECTORY COMING

In early March, Our Power will be launching our new vendor directory that will simplify the process of selecting a reliable vendor and requesting a quote.  The directory will be a one stop shop for selecting a vendor with detailed profiles that include:

• Geographic Service Area 
• Experience
• Type of Panels and Inverters They Install
• Follow Up Services
• Homeowner References 

At Our Power we often get the question, "Why should I buy panels now when they will be much cheaper in a couple of years?"

This is certainly a logical assumption but in the context of the Feed-In Tariff and microFIT programs it does not apply.  The program is structured to deliver a return on investment, which is a function of the system cost and revenue; so when the system costs fall, the price the Ontario Power Authority pays for power will also drop.

Other jurisdictions with Feed-In Tariff programs have aggressively dropped their prices in lockstep with reductions in installed costs and the Ontario program is designed to do the same with regular reviews of the costs of solar power production.  The OPA's mandate is to ensure reasonable costs of power and they certainly won't get away with delivering windfall profits to private power producers.

As a result, waiting for installed costs of solar to drop will make no difference to your return on investment until solar power costs no more than power from the grid, a situation known as ‘grid parity’.  A study by clean tech research and publishing firm Clean Edge, predicts grid parity will be reached in most of the United States by 2015.  However, with a less favourable tax structure for solar and lower electricity prices, grid parity in Ontario will likely take longer.

In addition, large buyers eyeing utility-scale projects are gobbling up contracts for the early production from next generation solar manufacturers, meaning that product would not be available for residential applications until years after grid parity is reached.

With the strong Feed-In program in place, homeowners will only be missing out on revenue by waiting for new technology to come to market.

Our Power is firing on all cylinders since the launch of the new Our Power website at the Canadian Solar Industries conference on December 7th and have just compiled our latest web stats.

- 900 new visitors have checked out the site

- 200 have become Our Power Homeowner Members

- 100 have requested a free customized site assessment

All in the first two weeks!

Our Power is bringing in reinforcements to help meet the demand and site assessment requests will be filled as soon as possible.

The launch also lined up with Google releasing updated satellite imagery.  The photos were taken in September and October 2009, the time of year when shading from trees it most acute.  This information will allow Our Power to estimate the solar potential of your roof with even greater accuracy!

Also, Our Power homeowner Sue Dexter was featured on CBC's Metro Morning on Monday, Dec 21 describing the benefits of her solar system, click here to listen in!  

Important Deadline to Upgrade to microFIT Contract!

On October 1, 2021 the OPA finalized FIT and microFIT program rules, which disqualified many Ontarians, who had purchased renewable energy generation systems in anticipation of this program, from participating.  The two barriers erected were domestic content requirements and an inability to upgrade RESOP contracts to the new FIT and microFIT rates.

This week, in response to a strong public outcry, the OPA has announced a mechanism that allows these early adopters to apply for a microFIT contract and avoid compliance with domestic content rules.  This is a limited time offer with a deadline of November 30, 2021 at 11:59pm and applies to anyone who fulfills the following requirements:

- Purchased renewable energy generating equipment with a capacity of 10 kW or less before October 1, 2021 with or without a RESOP contract

- Projects must reach commercial operation by December 31, 2021

Next steps:

RESOP Generators –  Micro RESOP projects 10 kW and less that were purchased or were in service by October 1, 2021 will be required to sign the "RESOP to microFIT Transition Agreement." This form will allow the OPA to terminate the RESOP contract when the microFIT contract is executed. It will be posted on the OPA website November 6th.

Non-RESOP Generators – Locate proof of equipment purchase, which must be included with your microFIT program application.  Submit the full application to the OPA by the November 30 deadline.  Follow the Our Power microFIT application guide to simplify this process.

Click here for complete OPA microFIT transition rules.

Ambitious Solar Targets for City of Toronto

The City of Toronto released its Sustainable Energy Strategy this week that calls for 3 MW of renewable power to be installed in the city by the end of 2010, and an average of just over 3 MW in each successive year leading up to 16 MW by 2014.

Toronto Hydro is committing significant resources to these goals and believes that distributed renewable generation will play a key role in addressing grid constraint issues in the city.

Click here for the full report

The Ontario Power Authority announced today that any renewable energy project equal to or less than 500 kW in size and installed before October 1, 2021 will be eligible for the FIT program regardless of whether they hold a RESOP contract or meet domestic content requirements set out in the FIT rules.

This means that every solar homeowner in Ontario can apply for a microFIT contract and be rewarded for their pioneering work in moving renewable energy policy forward in Ontario.

Our Power would like to thank the many homeowners who gave us their input on this matter as it allowed us to present evidence to the OPA in support of our request to have RESOP contracts graduated to the new rates.

Also, the OPA has announced that next week they will be unveiling a more detailed interpretation of the domestic content rules to further enable new projects, stay tuned!

For more details follow this link: microfit.powerauthority.on.ca/

DETAILS
Nov. 15-16
1st Annual OSEA Community Power Conference 2009 – Ontario Sustainable Energy Association

Community Power – It’s everybody’s business now           

Join us and learn everything you need to know about creating a successful Community Power project.
 
This two-day conference includes over 25 seminars and workshops on financing, the Ontario Power Authority’s feed-in tariff programs, solar for residential/warehouse applications, First Nation renewable energy projects, the hottest technology and the Green Energy and Green Economy Act.

The conference will be attended by key government officials and industry experts who will answer your questions and share local case studies to advance your business models and your triple bottom line.
 
Join Honourary Chair, Dr. David Suzuki, and OSEA in making Ontario a national leader with our innovation, accountability and commitment to sustainable energy.
 
www.cpconference.ca or [email protected]

Community Power – It’s everybody’s business now

Great exhibiting and sponsorship opportunities available!

Nov. 16-18, Free to attend, visit the 2009 Power Networking Centre, hosted jointly by OSEA and the Association of Power Producers of Ontario.

1. Site Assessment

Our Power can send you an online site assessment of your roof's solar potential.  Just send us your information using the toolbar on the right of this page.

For a closer look at an Our Power Site Assessment click here.

2. Get a Quote

If your roof is a great site for solar PV, your next step is to get a quote from a system vendor.  Our Power simplifies this process by offering a Vendor Directory of reliable and cost-competitive vendors in Southern Ontario.

3. Becoming a Generator

There are a few simple steps that will save homeowners a lot of hassle if they are taken before actual system installation.  Our Power lays them out here.

4. Going Live

Once the pre-installation pieces are in place, you are ready to bring in the installation team and connect to the grid!

Huge Support for Solar Power Confirmed!

After months of deliberating, Ontario took the lead today in supporting solar energy with its microFIT program offering 80.2 cents/kWh to rooftop solar projects 10kW or less in size.  This incentive will make an investment in solar PV competitive with any long term investment on the market.  The Our Power website provides all the information that homeowners need to participate in this program and make money with solar power.

Click here to read the official press release.

Click here for more details on the FIT program.

Click here for California expert Paul Gipe's opinion of the Ontario program.

On Thursday March 12, the OPA announced their proposed pricing for the new Feed-In Tariff program which would almost double the price paid to rooftop generators under the RESOP program.  While this does not represent a final decision on tariff levels, the announcement kicks off an eight week review process with the program likely not launching until this summer, it is the strongest indication to date that the OPA is serious about making rooftop solar profitable in Ontario. 

Unlike the RESOP program that paid solar PV generators 42 cents/kWh for any projects capable of generating up to 10 MW of power, the new Feed-In Tariff program, like its succesful counterparts in Europe, offers a multi-tiered pricing regime based on project size.  The reasoning behind this is that different solar applications, say a 2 kW rooftop array and a 5 MW ground-based solar farm, have differing abilities to capture scale benefits and since the government is keen to support various PV projects, higher rates must be offered to smaller generators in order to make the projects economically attractive.  The following figure shows the proposed tariff levels and prices.

(Adapted from the OPA website)

More information on the Feed-In Tariff program and the proposed rates for other technologies are also availalble on the OPA website.

This exciting news could drastically improve the economics of rooftop PV projects which the province now understands as necessary to reach its goal of 100 000 solar rooftops.  Our Power is looking forward to working with communities interested in taking advantage of this new incentive.

An excellent article by the Toronto Star's Tyler Hamilton gives more details.

1. Ontario Government Tables Green Energy Act

2. Our Power Wiki Re-Launch

3. Direction to Insurance Companies

4. Community Project Updates  

Things have been very active on the renewable energy front in Ontario over the last few months. Here is a brief update on recent developments and one key upcoming Action item.

1. Community Solar Projects In The GTA
It would take another email to go through all the updates and exciting things that have been happening with community solar projects in and around the GTA. Click here to review the one-page report!

2. Wind In The Lake
Right now there is opposition to installing electricity-generating windmills in Toronto and this could derail the city's first major renewable energy project.

Windmills provide clean energy, save money and create jobs. You can help usher Toronto into a renewable energy future.

Toronto Hydro is hosting a public presentation to discuss the installation of windmills in Lake Ontario. It's crucial that you attend this meeting and let others know that your Toronto includes windmills.

www.torontoenvironment.org/windmills

3. Ontario Government Solar Taskforce

Back in February the Government of Ontario struck a four person taskforce to develop a report with recommendations on what needs to be done to meet the Goal of 100,000 solar roofs in Ontario. The Committee submitted its report on October 31st. We will let you know as soon as it is made public.

4. Green Energy Act

The new Minister of Energy and Infrastructure is considering introducing a Green Energy Act in the legislature this coming year. Visit the OSEA site

www.greenenergyact.ca

for more information and ideas on how you can support this important initiative.

5. Toronto Sustainable Energy Plan

The City of Toronto has been moving ahead with implementation of its Sustainable Energy Plan. It recently awarded contracts to Mondial Energy and CC Solar to install solar thermal systems on 20 City Buildings and sell the city the thermal energy. There is also an important set of recommendations coming forward to the November 25th, 2008 Executive Committee meeting. You can see the recommendations and read the attached reports by going to

toronto.ca/legdocs/2008/agendas/ex.htm

and once here click on the November 10th detailed agenda link. The Energy issue was Agenda item 26.19 for the recommendations and links to the reports.