Canada : June 18, 2009

The Ontario Power Authority (“OPA”) has developed the Renewable Energy “Feed-In-Tariff Program” or FIT for the province of Ontario. As North America’s first guaranteed pricing structure, the fundamental objective of the FIT program, in conjunction with the Green Energy Act, would establish Ontario as a leader in renewable energy to encourage and promote the greater use of renewable energy sources including wind, hydro, biomass, biogas, biofuel, landfill gas and solar. The diverse range of producers of these renewable energies would include homeowners, community-based organizations and large scale commercial generators.

Successful implementation of the FIT Program, with rates for wind at 13-19c per kWh, hydroelectric at 13.2c per kWh, Solar up to 80.4c per kWh and biofuel between 10 to 14.7c per kWh, will require changes across the energy sector. The most significant change will be bringing renewable energy into service more quickly and efficiently.

A recently conducted renewable energy survey was taken to better understand the potential overall FIT Program. The survey focused on program uptake, geographic distribution and distribution between fuel and technology. There were responses from approximately 150 developers representing 381 renewable projects. The responses highlighted the need for new transmission and distribution infrastructure investments in order to bring new supply onto the existing grid.

As Ontario leads the way in establishing a program that provides design and cost certainty for renewable generators, it is expected that many others, both within Canada and around the world, will be watching whether this program gains consumer acceptance.