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September 27, 2017
Opening Note from CanSIA Policy & Market Development Director, Patrick Bateman
As stated as policy objectives in the Pan-Canadian Framework on Climate Change and Clean Growth and as demonstrated in several analyses including Canada's Mid-Century Long-Term Strategy, meeting Canada's climate action and clean growth targets and objectives are reliant on maximizing the efficiency of our energy-use and minimizing the emissions intensity of the energy we use.

Non-emitting electricity generation (including from the renewable energy sources: hydro; marine; solar; and wind) currently meet approximately 80% of Canada's annual electricity needs.  Canada's abundance of existing non-emitting electricity assets and untapped renewable and solar energy potential are Canada's single largest advantage in the challenge of deep de-carbonization over our global partners and competitors.

Canada has committed to a target of 90% of our electricity production to be from non-emitting energy sources by 2030.  Not only will this ambitious outcome result in material emissions reductions from the electricity sector, it will also provide an emissions-free, reliable and affordable option for fuel-switching in the transportation, buildings and industrial sectors i.e. "electrification".

There is no viable alternative for Canada to meet our international obligations under the Paris Agreement than to rapidly increase the proportion of non-emitting electricity in our supply-mix and to pursue significant levels of end-use electrification. This is the message that CanSIA and our partners in the Canadian Council on Renewable Electricity (CanCORE) are delivering to the Federal Government as they work through the Generation Energy Consultation to prepare a national energy strategy in 2018.
 
 Read on for further policy, market development and regulatory updates from the CanSIA executive team:
Policy & Market Development
Solar Canada 2017 to Solar Canada 2017 to Welcome High Profile Speakers SolCan
Solar Canada 2017, CanSIA's annual national conference and trade show at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre on December 4 & 5, will welcome the Honourable Glenn Thibeault, Ontario Minister of Energy and Member of Provincial Parliament for Sudbury, Monica Curtis, Chief Executive Officer, Energy Efficiency Alberta; Parminder Sandhu, Chair of the Board of Directors, Green Ontario Fund; and Teresa Sarkesian, President & CEO, Electricity Distributors Association. Many more will be added in the coming month. Early-bird pricing will be available until Tuesday October 10th.

Plus, the Game Changer Awards Brunch will be held on the second morning of Solar Canada. CanSIA is now accepting applications for the Game Changer Awards. Apply today for yourself, your organization and/or your project that made an impact on the Canadian solar industry.

CanCORE participates in "Generation Energy" Workshop in OttawaCancore
The mandate letter to the Federal Minister of Natural Resources directs that they work closely with provinces and territories to: develop a Canadian Energy Strategy to protect Canada's energy security; encourage energy conservation; and bring cleaner, renewable energy onto a smarter electricity grid. In support of the development of the strategy, the Generation Energy consultation is exploring the vision of Canadians for our energy supply in 2050. CanSIA and our partners in the Canadian Council on Renewable Electricity (CanCORE) participated in a workshop led by NRCan in Ottawa this past month to discuss the importance of the Federal Government's 90% non-emitting electricity target in our ability to reduce our national greenhouse gas emissions by 30% by 2030. CanSIA will be attending the Generation Energy conference hosted by the Honourable James Carr, Federal Minister of Natural Resources in Winnipeg in October.

Federal Government Invites Expressions of Interest for National ProgramsFedGov
To advance Canada's efforts to build a clean economy, the Federal Government proposed investments in green infrastructure, including initiatives that will support the implementation of the Pan-Canadian Framework on Clean Growth and Climate Change.  Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) is proposing to advance Canada's efforts to build a clean economy by accelerating the market entry of next generation clean energy infrastructure by investing a portion of its funding into commercial-scale technology demonstrations, deployment, community capacity building and targeted R&D.  CanSIA Members may explore the details of upcoming programs including how to express interest in participating in the Next Generation Clean Energy Infrastructure, Promoting Clean Energy for Remote Communities and Smart Grids on the NRCan website.

4,000 MW Qualify for Alberta's 400 MW Renewable Electricity Program (REP)ABRep
The Government of Alberta has announced the opening of the final Request for Proposals (RFP) stage for REP Round 1. Qualified respondents from the RFQ stage have been invited to submit a bid proposal. A total of 29 projects qualified to advance to the request for proposals stage, representing approximately 10 times the number of megawatts targeted for the first round. Successful bidders will provide a target of 400 megawatts of renewable electricity at the lowest cost to consumers, or enough to power up to 170,000 homes. The projects are required to be operational by the end of 2019. In total, the Renewable Electricity Program will support the development of 5,000 megawatts of renewable electricity capacity by 2030.

Québec, Ontario and California Join Forces to Fight Climate ChangeQuebec
Québec Premier Philippe Couillard, Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne and California Governor Edmund G. Brown further strengthened their cooperation in the global fight against climate change by signing an agreement to integrate and harmonize the carbon markets of Québec, Ontario and California effective January 1, 2018. Joint auctions of GHG emission allowances can be held regulations and reporting will be harmonized.

On September 6, 2017, Ontario held its third Cap and Trade auction for emission allowances resulting in a third straight sell out. This round brought in $525M more for green investments that will help reduce emissions, on top of the almost $1 billion raised earlier this year. These funds, in part, will go towards the new Green ON Fund which is expected to provide incentives for solar electricity, heating and cooling technologies this Autumn.

CanSIA Launches New Green ON Fund (GOF) Solar Program Forum GreenOnForum
As part of Ontario's Climate Change Action Plan and the Green ON Fund (GOF), it is anticipated that the Government of Ontario will launch an incentive program for net-metered solar electricity generation in Q4, 2017. The incentive program may take the form of a capital rebate up to the lesser of a defined proportion of a system's total eligible cost or a maximum rebate amount. Both solar electricity and heating technologies are expected to be eligible for the program.

CanSIA Green ON Fund Forum will monitor the development and implementation of the GOF solar program and will work with the IESO and other stakeholders to support the goals of the program are met effectively and efficiently. Leading up to the launch of this program, CanSIA expects to have an open dialogue with the IESO to provide input and feedback on the design of the program in advance of its initial launch. As a secondary objective, the Forum will provide members with the latest developments and updates related to the GOF programs.

This forum is seeking CanSIA Members to provide practical information, insights and recommendations on how the initial and future GOF solar programs can be best designed and delivered. As a result, a well structured and implemented solar incentive program will ensure program success, a vibrant Ontario solar market, and help Ontario meet its climate change goals. To participate in this forum please click here.

Ontario's FIT 5 Offers 148 MW of Contracts to Solar PV ProjectsOnFIT
On September 20, 2017, the IESO announced FIT 5 contract offers equalling approximately 150 MW, the majority (98.6% or 147.899 MW) allocated to solar PV projects. The complete list of contract offers is available online.  In accordance with the directive issued on December 16, 2016, by the Minister of Energy, 2016 will be the final FIT application period. As a result, the IESO will not be accepting any further applications under the FIT Program. Unallocated capacity under the procurement target at the end of this FIT 5 procurement will remain unallocated.  For more information visit the IESO website.

Ontario's Long Term Energy Plan Now Expected in October or NovemberLTEP
The Ontario Ministry of Energy (MOE) continues to develop the next iteration of the province's Long Term Energy Plan (LTEP).  CanSIA understands that the LTEP is now expected to be released in October or November 2017. CanSIA continues to monitor the progress of the LTEP and will provide further updates to members as they become available. CanSIA Members can access the presentation and audio archive for the Network Webinar outlining CanSIA's recommendations to the MOE.

Utilities & Regulatory Affairs
CanSIA launches Utility-Scale Solar Electricity Cost ForumUtiliyForum
The CanSIA Utility-Scale Solar Electricity Cost Forum has been initiated for the leading developers, engineers and other active participants in the utility-scale solar supply-chain from CanSIA's Membership to provide feedback to the National Energy Board (NEB) during the preparation and publication of a pan-Canadian assessment of the cost of utility-scale solar.  The NEB is an independent economic regulatory agency created in 1959 by the Government of Canada to oversee "international and inter-provincial aspects of the oil, gas and electric utility industries". Their upcoming report will be an important tool for policy-makers, regulators, and energy markets, expected to be published as early as Q4 2017.  This initial report will not cover the cost of smaller scale solar electricity generation, but future iterations may.   Click here to join the Utility-Scale Solar Electricity Cost Forum. 

Democratization of Energy, Consumer Empowerment and Grassroots Transactions  Democratization
Formed early this year through the merger of four municipal utilities outside of Toronto, Alectra is now the second-largest municipal utility in North America.  Building off the experience of its formative utilities, the company already has a large virtual power plant project for residential customers, is pushing into the commercial and industrial space and is also exploring utility-scale microgrids for critical infrastructure. And like any good utility, Alectra is exploring ways to earn a regulated rate of return on these investments.  In his keynote address at the Energy Storage North America conference last month, CEO Brian Bentz said his company is moving aggressively into the distributed energy space due to a sea change in grid operations brought on by DER advances.  "The traditional hierarchical grid structure was all about power flowing downward, communication flowing downward and commerce flowing downward," he said. "As we emerge to the new energy environment, we're going to see the emergence of the democratization of energy, consumer empowerment and transactions at the grassroots level [that will] fundamentally change the way we deliver power."  "Someone's going to cannibalize our business - it may as well be us. Someone's going to eat our lunch. They're lining up to do it," Bentz said. "I think repositioning, redefining the grid from what it is as sort of a passive purveyor of energy to one that is an enabler of transactive energy at the grassroots level is a much more sustainable, profitable strategy."