Size of Ontario’s solar (PV) Market

Ontario is an emerging market for photovoltaic panels. At the end of 2008 there was less than 500 kW of PV installed. However, with the announcement of Ontario’s new feed-in tariff for sustainable energies, especially solar energy, things have changed. As of October 5, 2009, with the addition of First Lights 9.1MW project coming online, Ontario has just surpassed the 10 MW mark of installed solar power. Thus  making it the 10^th largest solar jurisdiction in North America.

First Solar also plans to have a 20MW expansion to another project near Sarnia completed by year’s end. This will catapult Ontario into the top 5 jurisdictions within North America at just under 30MW of installed solar energy.  As of the end of November, 2009, there was over 500 MW of solar power contracts outstanding. Sustainable Energy estimates the annual growth of installed PV in Ontario to surpass 500 MW in 2010 with an additional 1,000 MW installed in 2011.

We believe that this number may be even higher as the provincial government has mandated that all coal power plants, which amounts to 6 GW, are to be decommissioned by 2014. Combined with an increase in energy demand, over 10 GW of new installed power will be required by 2014. The majority of this new generation is expected to come from natural gas and alternative energies as expansion of Ontario’s nuclear reactors has been ruled out by the province. Can Ontario become the number one jurisdiction for installed photovoltaics in North America. Assuming the Province keeps its side of the bargain and leaves the new Feed-in Tariff intact, it would seem that the answer is Yes (unless of course California introduces a significant Feed-in tariff of their own).

Tags: green, pv panels, solar energy, solar power