Ontario Introduces Green Energy Legislation

Article by Torys' Infrastructure and Energy Practice

On February 23, the Ontario government introduced into the legislature for first reading the Green Energy and Green Economy Act, 2009 (the Act), which would enact a stand-alone Green Energy Act, 2009 and amend and repeal various other statutes. The Act is a much-anticipated pillar of the government's plan to make the province a North American leader in renewable energy generation. According to government announcements, it would (i) expand Ontario's use of clean and renewable sources of energy, particularly wind, hydro, biomass, biogas, biofuel, solar, geothermal and tidal projects (collectively, "renewable energy projects"); (ii) create 50,000 or more jobs relating to the green economy over the next three years; (iii) further protect the environment, in part by encouraging conservation and mitigating the province's greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions; and (iv) help modernize Ontario's electricity transmission system.