Winds of change require backing of government RFP, developer says.

• Author: Ross, Ian
• Position: Energy & Environment - Request for proposal

If the McGuinty government is going to make good on its commitment to shut down coal-fired plants by 2007 and deliver more renewable energy to consumers, they need to come out with a policy this winter to encourage green energy developers and the investment community to get on board, says a Northern Ontario wind park developer.

David Boileau, an Atikokan-based developer behind a proposal to build a $180-million large scale wind park near Sault Ste. Marie, says the government is going to have to act quickly if it plans on bringing in new sources of renewable energy faster than what the Conservatives were calling for.

They must do that in the form of a request for proposal (RFP) asking for competitive bids on a major project of more than 400 to 500 megawatts to help kick-start the wind energy industry in Ontario, he says.

Boileau, vice-president of Superior Wind Energy and chairman of the Ontario Wind Power Task Force, along with about a half a dozen other serious developers of wind power in Ontario, are optimistic the government will act soon. Boileau's predictions stem from conversations with the Energy Minister Dwight Duncan's office and his counterparts in the renewable energy industry.

Government action needed

"We think the government needs to move very quickly if they're going to meet their commitment to bring over 27,000 megawatts of new renewables by 2010," says Boileau, including 13,500 megawatts by 2007.

"Commitments are great, but the devil's in the details," Boileau says. "Show me the legislation and show me the magic words, RFP, because that's what we can finance projects on."

Since capital costs for wind power projects are very high, front-end capital costs because of environmental assessments, approvals, building foundations, erecting of towers and turbines, and connecting transmission lines, projects cannot be financed on the basis of the Ontario's fluctuating electricity spot market, Boileau says.

What companies like Superior Wind Energy are looking at is a long-term power purchase agreement from a customer, most likely the provincial government, to provide a steady source of revenue to the project for wind park proponents to service their debt.

To deliver energy on a major 400 megawatt renewable energy project within the government's timelines, Boileau says his company would need at least three-and-a-half years to secure the bulk of their investment commitment and would need to know the province's intentions by at least...