| By: |
Benjamin Dachis (C.D. Howe Institute);
Jan Carr (Ontario Power Authority (retired)) |
| Abstract: |
Ontario’s Green Energy and Green Economy Act subsidizes producers of renewable
electricity by paying them far more for their output than the prevailing
market price of electricity. Wind power receives a fixed electricity price of
13.5 cents per kilowatt-hour, and solar receives even larger amounts. This
subsidy will result in additional costs to the average Ontario household of
$310 per year; ostensibly designed to reduce emissions and create jobs,
Ontario’s renewable electricity subsidy is an expensive way of meeting these
goals. The drag of unnecessarily high electricity costs on the Ontario economy
could be reduced if the province did not award any further subsidized
contracts to renewable electricity generators. |
| Keywords: |
Economic Growth and Innovation, renewable energy, Province of Ontario, Canada, Feed-In-Tariff (FIT) program, energy subsidies |
| JEL: |
K10 K20 L10 L20 |
| Date: |
2011–05 |
| URL: |
http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:cdh:ebrief:117&r=law |