First Solar Canada Will Be First Company To Undergo Ontario’s Process For Renewable Energy Projects
First Solar Development Canada is planning a 186-hectare, 20MW solar farm near Belmont, London, which has the potential to produce enough electricity to power 3000 homes. The company and its proposed project will be the first to go through the new Ontario process aimed to speed renewable energy projects. First Solar’s proposed project spans three municipalities and two counties.
Ontario’s Energy Minister George Smitherman said in September that after submitting the paperwork to local officials, all renewable energy projects must now go through a new provincial approvals process. The new process aims to incorporate environmental assessments, municipal planning and other approvals and permits. The London Free Press reported Premier Dalton McGuinty as saying “earlier changes were needed to prevent not-in-my-backyard opponents from stopping green energy projects. The province, he said, needs them to wean itself off dirty coal for electricity."
