Canadian law pays grid customers for solar

DurkaDurka

Internet Lawyer
Mar 15, 2006
10,385
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Toronto
I hadn't even heard about this in the Canadian Press, found this article in the Washington Post.

A little incentive to produce your own power...


http://washtimes.com/upi/20061016-023548-4925r.htm

Canadian law pays grid customers for solar

Oct. 16, 2006 at 2:55PM
Ontario has passed a law requiring utilities to pay customers for solar, wind, and hydroelectric energy they generate, it was reported Monday.
The program is modeled after European legislation that has helped small, private renewable energy projects thrive, according to a report by The Washington Post.
Beginning next month, Ontario utilities will pay 42 cents per kilowatt hour for solar energy, the report said.
Wind, hydro- and bioelectric power will net customers 11 cents per kilowatt hour, according to the report.
"In addition to getting paid for making electricity, home- owners and businesses slash their own electricity draw from the grid, where power sells at an average of about 5.8 cents a kilowatt hour across the province. Advocates say it reduces the burden on the electric transmission lines, encourages conservation and may save the cost of a new plant," the report said.
The laws have spurred the creation of several renewable energy co-operatives, so users can reap the benefits while saving some money on the initial investment, according to the report.
"One woman said (watching her electricity meter run backwards as she added power to the grid) was better than watching TV," Ron McKay, the leader of one of the co-operatives, told the newspaper.
 

humanbeing

Electoral Member
Jul 21, 2006
265
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Hopefully soon...

Photovoltaics will become a sound economic choice, good enough that one can live "normally" (in the affluent sense) off of a few panels, off of the grid, even within a city's limits. I look forward to that time.