Today’s Energy Policy determines how competitive our economy will be and how vibrant our communities will be well into the future as well as what type of environment we will leave for our children. 

AMO believes that intelligent and decisive action is urgently needed to ensure that Ontario demonstrates leadership with respect to conservation, supply mix, and long term planning.

• Conservation Plans
• Long Term Energy Plans
• Property-Assessed Payments for Energy Retrofits

Renewable Energy

AMO has put this page together as a resource for municipal staff dealing with renewable energy issues. With the exception of the AMO documents section none of these materials are the responsibility of AMO and in no way constitute AMO policy.

Ontario’s Green Energy Act (GEA), and related amendments to other legislation, received Royal Assent on May 14, 2009. The intention of the GEA is to boost investment in renewable energy projects and increase conservation, creating green jobs and economic growth to Ontario. Regulations and other tools needed to fully implement the legislation continue to be introduced. AMO continues to seek solutions to ensure that the implementation of the Act is feasible, practical, and affordable.  AMO Documents Provincial Action on Renewable Energy. August 11, 2011. AMO’s Written Submission to the Standing Committee on General Government (April 16, 2009) Letter from President Hume on Removing Local Barriers to Renewable Energy Installations: Proposed Regulation (EBR Registry Number: 010-6455)

Green Energy Act Links and Documents

• REFO Municipal Guide to Renewable Energy Projects The municipal role in renewable energy development can include participating as a developer, encouraging projects for economic development purposes, establishing renewable energy policies and targets, providing comments and input on project design via the consultation process, authorizing the use of municipal property, entering into agreements with developers and enacting by-laws affecting projects, or any combination of these roles. This guide is intended to help municipalities understand the renewable energy development process, with particular attention paid to the rights, responsibilities and opportunities for municipalities to be meaningful participants in development.
• Green Energy Act, 2009
• Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure’s Green Energy Act page
• Renewable Energy Facilitation Office (REFO)
• Ministry of Environment’s Provincial approvals for Renewable Energy Projects guide
• Ministry of Environment’s Renewable Energy Approval Page

Regulations Under the Green Energy Act

• Designations Re Section 5 of the Act [O. Reg (15/10)] - eliminates a patchwork of local approval requirements by designating the following priority renewable energy projects and sources under the GEA:
  • roof or wall mounted solar photovoltaic (PV) systems;
  • roof or wall mounted solar thermal systems that heat air;
  • roof or wall mounted solar thermal water systems that heat water; and
  • ground source heat pumps.

The new regulation eliminates a range of local approval requirements that could previously restrict the installation of renewable energy projects. Some examples of municipal by-laws and other restrictions that may no longer act as barriers to such projects include:

AMO’s Energy Task Force worked with the province to ensure that certain local requirements (e.g. property standards bylaws) and Provincial Acts related to health, safety, heritage, and environmental concerns remain in effect.  This includes bylaws, instruments and other restrictions that relate to the four classes of matters below:

1. The prevention of injury to or the destruction of trees.
2. The protection of groundwater. 
3. The designation and protection of properties, and other matters under Ontario Heritage Act.
4. Any activity or matter that is the subject of a regulation made by a conservation authority under parts of the Conservation Authorities Act.
    

Guidelines Under the Green Energy Act
The Ministry of the Environment’s Technical Guide to Renewable Energy Approvals. This Guide has been developed to provide detailed information on the requirements for submitting a complete application for a Renewable Energy Approval (REA) under O. Reg. 359/09. The Guide is a consolidation of the draft Technical Bulletins the Ministry consulted on in Spring 2010 and the draft guidance on water bodies on which the Ministry consulted in early 2011. The Guide can be accessed on the Ministry of the Environment website at www.ene.gov.on.ca.
Natural Heritage Assessment: Guide for Renewable Energy Projects The REA Regulation addresses natural heritage protection for renewable energy projects on private land and provincial Crown land in Ontario. This guideline from the Ministry of Natural Resources contains development prohibitions within certain natural features and established setbacks from those features.
Birds and Bird Habitats: Guidelines for Wind Energy Power Projects  The purpose of this Guideline from the Ministry of Natural Resources is to provide guidance on identifying and assessing bird habitat and for addressing potential negative effects on birds and bird habitats during the planning, construction, and operation of onshore wind power projects in Ontario and is applicable to both Crown and private land.

Municipal Consultation

• Renewable Energy Approval Consultation Form -  Proponents are required by regulation (under ss. 18(2) Ontario Regulation 359/09) to circulate the consultation form to the clerk of every municipality where the project location is situated. Proponents must also circulate the consultation form to Local Roads Board and Local Service Board. The Municipal Consultation Form will address matters relating to municipal or local infrastructure and servicing. Proponents must also show how they addressed municipal or local authority concerns or why they were unable to do so.

In addition, proponents must undertake the following requirements for public consultation:

• At least two community meetings are required for each municipality
• The project developer will also provide documentation of all community consultation efforts and explain how issues raised during the community consultation were addressed
• Studies and reports must be made publicly available 60 days before final public meeting.  Municipality will receive 90 days before final public meeting
• Through guidance, province will encourage early and often consultation with local community and municipality

For more information contact the Green Energy Unit of the Ministry of the Environment.

Wind Turbines - AMO has compiled Ontario-based research efforts on wind turbines and their alleged health impacts to help provide a resource for municipalities dealing with a potential wind project in their area. While by no means exhaustive, the following studies provide a good overview of local investigations to date.

• Analysis of Wind Turbine Noise by the University of Massachusetts at Amherst Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering Minnesota Department of Health Environmental Health Division’s analysis of health effects Literature Review and Analysis conducted by McMaster Institute of Environment and Health (MIEH) at the request of The Town of Wasaga Beach.
• The review of existing scientific evidence on the potential health impact of noise generated by wind turbines technical working group led by the Chief Medical Officer of Health (CMOH) can be found here.
• The presentation by Dr. Ray Copes, MD, MSc, and Dr. Karen Rideout, MSc of the  National Collaborating Centre for Environmental Health entitled Wind Turbines and Health : A Review of Evidence can be downloaded here. 
• Finally, the presentation from Acting MOH, Chatham-Kent Dr. David Colby MSc, MD, FRCPC to the Clean Air Partnership (CAP) on July 6, 2010, is an excellent summary of the research to date.
• The Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC) continues to track the effects of wind turbines on property assessment and will provide results as soon as a reliable sample has been analyzed over a full assessment period.
• In the meantime, the Lawrence Berkeley national Laboratory in California has released a detailed study on 7,500 sales of single-family homes across four states that concluded that neither the view or the distance of the home to those facilities is found to have a statistically significant effect on home prices.