By Don McCabe, Vice President, Ontario Federation of Agriculture

Developing green energy and securing sustainable energy sources has been a priority for government, industry, researchers and consumers for decades. In Ontario, we are fortunate to have programs that ensure green energy is a priority today, and for future generations.

The Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA) was an early supporter of green energy and joined with the Ontario Sustainable Energy Association and other like-minded groups in 2008 to campaign for a Green Energy and Green Economy (GEGE) Act. The act was passed in 2009 and set a commitment to the Feed in Tariff (FIT) program. Ontario’s FIT program is North America’s first comprehensive guaranteed pricing structure for renewable electricity production offering stable prices under long-term contracts for energy generated from renewable sources including wind, solar, biomass and biogas.

A past provincial Conservative government passed legislation to remove coal fired power from Ontario’s energy mix. A key objective of the GEGE act is to assist in the phase-out of coal-fired generating stations in Ontario by the end of 2014. In a recent speech to the Economic Club of Canada, Premier McGuinty commented that, “we know the price of fossil fuels will keep going up, while we know the price of renewable technologies will keep coming down. We know where the world is going. And we choose to lead, not follow.” These words from the Premier indicate a rock solid commitment to the development and implementation of green energy technologies.

With the new act, the government also committed to a FIT program review (this includes microFIT) within two years to evaluate the program’s rules and pricing. The provincial government has kept its promise and OFA is pleased to be involved in the FIT program review process. 

Farmers are in a unique position. All farmers are consumers of energy and rely on an efficient generation and delivery system across the province. But now there is also potential for many farmers to participate in the generation of energy through the FIT and microFIT programs. The OFA’s critical assessment of these programs will identify both strengths and weaknesses in each. The intent will be to recommend changes that enable both of these programs to continue into the future and provide opportunities for Ontario farmers to contribute to Ontario’s long-term goal of generating green energy from renewable sources. The OFA’s submission to the FIT program review is in the final stages of drafting. It will be submitted to the Ontario Ministry of Energy by mid-December and posted to the OFA website. The position will include recognition of the balance of improved technology cost implementation and consumer pricing.

OFA continues to advocate for the development of green energy for farmers, consumer pocketbooks, and the health of the province. All farmers are power consumers. And now they have opportunities to become power generators. We must ensure policies embedded in the FIT programs are in the best interests of all Ontarians. Green energy has an important place in our industry and we’re working to make it a better fit.