APPrO statement on the Minister of Energy's announcement about the second RFP for renewable energy, April 19, 2005

For immediate release: April 19, 2005

Second renewable energy RFP a strategic move, Ontario Power Producers Say

TORONTO, April 19, 2005 -- Ontario's power producers welcomed the release today of the second Request for Proposals (RFP) from the Ontario government for up to 1,000 megawatts of clean, green power. According to APPrO President Dave Butters, bringing this much renewable capacity into Ontario's power system presents a significant opportunity to enhance the linkages between a clean environment and a competitive economy.

“Renewable energy is a growth industry and also good for the environment, so it makes sense for Ontario to encourage the private sector to play a greater role in the development of green power. This initiative will encourage major investment in Ontario and will attract capital from around the world to help Ontario become a leader in this field”, Butters said.

Potential RFP participants will have the opportunity to examine the document in detail when it is made public, but it is expected that the RFP will attract significant interest from the private sector.

“The last renewable energy RFP attracted a great deal of attention, but it also assumed that most project developers are far along in the permitting process”, Butters added. “Therefore, it cut out of the process many small developers who did not have the financial wherewithal to invest heavily in permitting long before the issuance of an RFP.”

“This time the criteria for proponent selection should be less restrictive so that more projects have an opportunity to compete,” Butters suggested. “We have already made a number of recommendations to the government to encourage the development of the “best” renewable projects and ensure the broadest level of qualified participation and competition – hopefully a good many of our recommendations have been addressed.”

Butters also indicated that a stream-lined provincial permitting process, when harmonized with the federal permitting process, would shorten the amount of development time and reduce the cost and uncertainty of permitting, which would in turn result in lower cost projects.

Butters said that with this RFP announcement, Ontario should now move forward with an Integrated Power System Plan through the Ontario Power Authority to identify ongoing resource procurement requirements as well as the specific resource criteria that will meet those requirements, including existing and potential Ontario generation facilities, long-term energy efficiency improvements and conservation and demand reduction options, together with appropriate competitive procurement processes.

“The private sector will step up to the plate in response to these initiatives and our goal is to ensure that the maximum number of competitors come forward. The more competitors we have, the better prices consumers will get,” he concluded.

APPrO is a non-profit organization representing more than 100 companies involved in the generation of electricity in Ontario, including generators and suppliers of services, equipment and consulting services. APPrO members produce power from co-generation, hydro-electric, gas, coal, nuclear, wind energy, waste wood and other sources. APPrO's members currently produce over 95% of the electricity made in Ontario.

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For further information contact:

David Butters, President
Association of Power Producers of Ontario (APPrO)
25 Adelaide St. E., Suite 1602, Toronto ON M5C 3A1
tel: (416) 322-6549
fax: (416) 481-5785
e-mail: david.butters@appro.org
website: http://www.appro.org

Association of Power Producers of Ontario (APPrO)
PO Box 1084, Stn. F, Toronto, Ont. M4Y 2T7
tel.: 416-322-6549 fax 416-481-5785
e-mail: appro@appro.org website: http://www.newenergy.org

For queries or suggestions, please forward to:

APPrO, PO Box 1084 Station F, Toronto, Ontario, M4Y 2T7 Canada.
Street address: 25 Adelaide St. East, Suite 1602, Toronto, Ontario M5C 3A1
(416) 322-6549 fax 416-481-5785 e-mail: APPrO@APPrO.org

Last update: April 19, 2005 URL: http://www.newenergy.org