April 5, 2016 – Ontario is launching a second phase of the competitive Large Renewable Procurement (LRP) process.

The Large Renewable Procurement (LRP), which replaced the large Feed-In Tariff (FIT) program, covers renewable energy projects generally larger than 500kW.  

Working with the Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO), the province says a Request for Qualifications process will be issued by August 1, 2016, for 930MW of renewable energy from solar photovoltaic, wind, hydroelectric and bioenergy sources, following engagement with stakeholders, municipalities and Indigenous communities.

Based on the results of the first phase of the LRP (LRP I), it is expected that $3.3 billion in LRP costs will be removed, according to the government, relative to the 2013 Long-Term Energy Plan (LTEP) forecast. This “saves the typical residential electricity consumer an average of $1.67 per month on their electricity bill over the forecast period”, the province adds.

In March 2016, the IESO offered contracts to 16 LRP proponents, for a total of almost 455MW of renewable energy capacity. Of the 16 projects that received contracts, the province says 75% received support from local municipalities.

For LRP Phase II, Ontario has set targets of up to 600MW of wind, up to 250MW of solar photovoltaic, up to 50MW of hydroelectricity and up to 30MW of bioenergy.