October 25, 2011

NOVA SCOTIA: Community Feed-in Tariffs Launched

Highest Tariff for Small Wind in North America Nova Scotia’s Community Feed-in Tariff, or ComFIT, launched September 19th when the Canadian maritime province opened the application process. Applicants must jump several hurdles, including a preliminary connection request, to successfully apply for limited space on the province’s antiquated grid. The ComFIT program target is 100 MW…

Highest Tariff for Small Wind in North America

Nova Scotia’s Community Feed-in Tariff, or ComFIT, launched September 19th when the Canadian maritime province opened the application process. Applicants must jump several hurdles, including a preliminary connection request, to successfully apply for limited space on the province’s antiquated grid.

The ComFIT program target is 100 MW of renewables by 2015, though the program is not limited to that amount. Provincial observers expect a flood of applications. Nevertheless, grid limitations, strict controls on who can and cannot participate, and last minute restrictions on the definition of what is and is not a small wind turbine are expected to slow development for several years.

Brennan Vogel, Ecology Action Centre, one of the intervenors in the UARB proceedings, said the program is “small, but a limited step in the right direction.”

With this move, Nova Scotia will pay the highest tariffs for small wind in North America, and the highest rates for in-stream tidal power in the world.

Source: Paul Gipe