The FIT Program is designed to be open to a variety of generators, projects sizes and renewable fuel types. The principal requirement is that a project be located in Ontario and be fueled by one of the following renewable resources: biogas, biomass, landfill gas, solar, waterpower or wind.

The FIT Program is for all projects over 10 kW. Projects 10 kW and under may choose to apply to the microFIT Program for certain project-specific reasons.

Incremental projects (additions to existing facilities) may be eligible, provided they use the same meter as the existing facility. However, only the generation attributed to the incremental project will be eligible for FIT Program payments.

Solar projects are limited to 10 megawatts (MW) per project. Waterpower projects must not be greater than 50 MW per project.

Applications to the FIT Program must be submitted online using the form provided on the OPA FIT Program website at www.FIT.powerauthority.on.ca. Required documentation supporting your application, including the application fee and security, must be sent to the OPA within five business days of submitting your online application. The OPA will communicate further steps in the process via email.

Full details on applying to the FIT Program are outlined in the FIT Rules. The OPA will communicate further steps in the process by email.

Yes, there is an application fee and security payments are required at different stages of the application process. These are required to ensure that developers are committed to bringing their projects to completion.

Application Fee

There is a non-refundable application fee that corresponds to the size of the project. The larger the project, the larger the application fee. The fee is $0.50 per kW of capacity. There is a $500 minimum and a $5,000 maximum. For details on the fee requirements, see the FIT Rules. GST is already included in the application fee.

Security Payments

For projects that are not capacity allocation exempt, an application security is required. The application security varies according to technology and project size. The level of security also depends on whether the application is for an Aboriginal or community-based project.

The application security is:

• $10 per kW for all projects other than solar PV
• $20 per kW for solar PV
• $5 per kW for community-based or Aboriginal projects with greater than 50 percent community or Aboriginal participation levels.

There is no GST charged on the application security.

The application security will be refunded by the OPA once the FIT Program contract is signed and the completion and performance security has been paid.

Completion and Performance Security

All projects will be required to pay completion and performance security at the time the contract is signed. A second completion and performance security payment will be required once the project has completed all the required permits and approvals (i.e., renewable energy approval, impact assessments, etc.). These payments will be returned upon successful completion of the project.

The payments are as follows.

First completion security:

• $50 per kW of contract capacity for solar PV projects
• $20 per kW of contract capacity for all other projects
• $5 per kW for community-based or Aboriginal projects with greater than 50 percent community or Aboriginal participation levels.

Second completion security:

• $25 per kW of contract capacity for solar PV projects
• $10 per kW of contract capacity for other projects
• $5 per kW for community-based or Aboriginal projects with greater than 50 percent community or Aboriginal participation levels.

All security payments are intended to give the OPA and electricity system planners some assurance that proposed projects will be brought into production.

Note that for projects applying to the microFIT Program, there are no fees or security payments.

Capacity allocation-exempt projects are distribution-connected projects that are either:

• less than 250 kW connected to a line less than 15 kV, or
• less than 500 kW connected to a line greater than or equal to15 kV.

The first completion and performance security payment is due within 10 business days after the OPA has offered you a contract.

First completion security (also known as the initial security):

• $50 per kW of contract capacity for solar PV projects
• $20 per kW of contract capacity for all other projects
• $5 per kW for community-based or Aboriginal projects with greater than 50 percent community or Aboriginal participation levels.

The second completion security is due after you have completed all of the required permits and approvals and met certain other development milestones. The payment is due within 30 days after the OPA has issued a notice to proceed.

Second completion security (also known as the notice to proceed (NTP) security):

• $25 per kW of contract capacity for solar PV projects
• $10 per kW of contract capacity for other projects
• $5 per kW for community-based or Aboriginal projects with greater than 50 percent community or Aboriginal participation levels.

The OPA recognizes that submitting each option agreement in hard copy form could result in a large number of documents being delivered to the OPA. 

The FIT Program will allow what was required under the RES III RFP. This means that if an applicant is required to submit supporting documentation for more than 10 different sites and each agreement, title, easement, lease, or licence, etc. has been executed using the same standard form, the applicant, rather than providing a copy of each document, may provide one copy of each standard agreement, title, easement, lease or licence, together with:

• a statement by the applicant setting out, in summary form, all information (including the parties, exact location and description of the site, commencement date, term, closing date and any other conditions) particular to each individual agreement, title, easement, lease or licence, as applicable, and
• a certificate of an officer of the applicant stating that all of the individual agreements, titles, easement, leases or licences, as applicable, for all sites have been signed and are in full force and effect.

Security payments may be in the form of: 

• certified cheque
• bank draft
• irrevocable and unconditional standby letter of credit issued by a financial institution listed in either Schedule I or II of the Bank Act (Canada), or such other financial institution having a minimum credit rating of (i) A- with S&P, (ii) A3 with Moody's, (iii) A low with DBRS, or (iv) A with Fitch IBCA, in the "Application Security" form attached to the Rules.

If the completion and performance security exceeds $200,000, the supplier must provide the completion and performance security in the form of a letter of credit as described in the FIT contract.

Where application security was provided to the OPA in the form of certified cheque or bank draft, an applicant that intends to provide completion and performance security in the same form as the application security may convert the application security into completion and performance security to reduce the amount of completion and performance security outstanding by enclosing the provided consent form with its response to the offer notice.

The second completion and performance security (NTP security) is in addition to the first completion and performance security (initial security).

To help ensure that valuable grid capacity is allocated to projects that are moving forward towards commercial operation. All security payments will be returned when the project has reached its commercial operation date.

It includes weekends, i.e., 30 calendar days.

FIT contract prices were developed to include an 11 percent return on equity. This does not, however, guarantee that every project will earn 11 percent on its investment since project costs and operation and maintenance vary from one project to another.

Yes.

• Technologies that are not intermittent (i.e., dispatchable), such as bioenergy and waterpower, will be encouraged to shift production to peak periods when the electricity is most needed.
• Payments will be 35 percent higher from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on business days, and 10 percent lower during off-peak hours.
  • Projects will earn the posted FIT price multiplied by:
    • 0.9 for off-peak periods
    • 1.35 for peak periods
• Projects that operate 24 x 7 every day of the year will earn the same total revenue as if they had been paid the posted FIT price.