Isra-Mart srl:Ontario boosts green powerhouse status with raft of project approvals

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Isra-Mart srl news:

Ontario has this week underlined its status as one of North America's leading clean energy hubs, granting incentives to 40 large-scale renewable energy projects which combined are expected to deliver 872MW of clean energy.

The provincial government announced yesterday that the solar, wind and hydro projects have been granted access to Ontario's feed-in tariff incentive scheme, providing them with guaranteed above-market rates for the energy they produce.

The move is expected to spark C3bn ($3.06bn) of investment and create up to 7,000 jobs across the province's booming clean energy industry. It follows last year's feed-in tariff approval for 180 projects boasting 2.4GW of capacity.

The latest round of projects will result in 35 solar developments providing 257MW of capacity, four large wind farms promising 615MW and one 500kw hydroelectric project.

The government said that a third round of feed-in tariff contracts for smaller projects with less than 500kw of capacity will be signed in the coming months.

The feed-in tariff scheme is at the heart of Ontario's drive to shut all its coal-fired power plants by 2014, a move that has allowed the province to distance itself from Canada's national government and its controversial plans to expand carbon-intensive tar sands projects in the country.

In related news, US solar firm SunPower Corp announced this week that it has gained county-level approval for a flagship solar plant in central California that is expected to become one of the world's largest solar farms.

The proposed California Valley Solar Ranch is expected to produce enough power for around 100,000 homes while also creating 350 jobs during the construction phase.

California has approved a raft of solar farms in recent months, but many developments are still facing opposition from local and environmental groups concerned about the impact of such facilities on desert habitats.