Compass Renewable Energy…

   Compass Renewable Energy Consulting Inc. (“Compass”) and Power Advisory LLC (“Power Advisory”) have prepared this submission on behalf of the newly formed Distributed Energy Resources Advisory Committee (“DER AC”). The DER AC is an industry-led group that consists of energy service providers with an interest in developing resources at the distribution-level to meet the needs of electricity customers; including solar PV, energy storage, demand response, energy efficiency, electric vehicles, and other demand-side resources. The purpose of the DER AC is to coordinate well-informed stakeholders for the purpose of contributing meaningfully to the government and its agencies on the quickly evolving electricity market. The DER AC will also provide stakeholder input to the Market Renewal Program and the implementation of the Ministry of Energy’s 2017 Long-Term Energy Plan (“LTEP”).

  The LTEP commits to enhance Ontario’s net metering framework to give customers new ways to participate in clean, renewable electricity generation.  The Ministry of Energy intends to expand net metering eligibility to include new ownership models and to ensure appropriate consumer protection provisions and siting restrictions are in place.  The government of Ontario is proposing amendments to regulations made under the Ontario Energy Board Act, the Energy Consumer Protection Act and the Electricity Act.

  Members of the DER AC offer the following feedback on the proposed amendments, which we understand are to be in force on July 1, 2018.

  Proposed changes under the Electricity Act regulation, EBR Registry Number:   013-1916

  The intent is to implement land use restrictions for ground-mounted solar projects similar to those in the FIT program.  The proposed regulation also specifies restrictions for certain wind generation facilities.

 These changes would apply to all new conventional ground-mounted solar projects, including projects that are developed without net metering (e.g., load displacement, off-grid systems, or future potential generation procurement activities, etc.) as well as structures such as solar carports which are considered to be ground mounted facilities.  The proposed changes include:

  o A prohibition on ground-mounted solar connecting to a residential dwelling – with no exceptions oA 15 metre property boundary set-back for all ground-mounted solar projects – for example, on commercial, industrial, retail or institutional properties

 o For projects 10 kW or greater:

 Prohibition on prime agricultural lands

 Prohibition on lands where prime ag lands have not been designated

 oHave a licensed surveyor confirm the 15 m setback with the distributor or transmitter, as applicable

 oHave a Professional Planner confirm the prime ag land restrictions with the distributor or transmitter

  While the DER AC recognizes the need to protect prime agricultural land and site generation resources appropriately, the proposed amendments do not appreciate the difference between local generation for customer self-consumption in contrast to generation procured under the FIT program, the latter of which incented maximum generation sizing.

  These proposed amendments raise concerns and do not appear to be aligned with the purposes of the Electricity Act, 1998.  The proposed amendments also appear to be contrary to the intent of the government’s recent The Cutting Unnecessary Red Tape Act, 2017, particularly reducing regulatory costs: Requiring all ministries to offset every dollar of new administrative costs to business by removing $1.25 of old and unnecessary costs, while protecting environmental, health and worker safety standards.

 The prohibition on ground-mounted solar projects to residential dwellings, imposition of property boundary set-backs, prime agricultural land restrictions and new regulatory compliance mechanisms (through electricity distributors or transmitters) are more appropriately implemented under the Environmental Protection Act – Environmental Activity and Sector Registry - Solar Facilities, O.Reg 350/12.

  Some members of the DER AC do about 75% of their business in rural Ontario, mostly with farmers. To tell a farmer that they cannot build solar on their own land to generate electricity for their own farm seems like a serious regulatory overreach, not to mention contrary to the fundamental goals of the LTEP and the Green Energy Act. It is in rural Ontario, where poles and wires are the most expensive to maintain, and where the greatest amount of energy is wasted in line losses, that DERs can make the greatest positive impact to the system and to customers.

  The blanket prohibition on ground-mounted solar facilities that connect to a residential dwelling is excessive and extreme.  For example, a 100 acre property with a farmhouse may be prohibited from installing a 6 kW solar carport for local electricity production.  Likewise, a new, net-zero residential community development proposing to offset electricity consumption with solar produced from parking canopies would not be permitted. While it appears that the intent of the policy is to restrict ground-mounted solar structures from intruding on neighbouring residential properties, this blanket prohibition approach leads to unintended consequences.

  The setbacks from property lines are also excessive.  An urban or suburban retail or commercial property wishing to install ground-mounted solar would have to be set back 15 m from the property boundary, regardless of the zoning or the current use of the neighbouring property. It has been noted that municipal bylaws could allow a carport to be constructed 1.5 m from the property line, but if the same carport had solar panels installed, this would require a 15 m setback.

  The requirement to have two professionals sign off on setback requirements and zoning requirements is also excessive and adds unnecessary administrative cost.  Professional signoff to confirm compliance is not required under the MOECC’s Environmental Activity and Sector Registry (EASR) for ground-mounted solar projects up to 500 kW.  EASR compliance is based on self-assessment and compliance declarations which cuts down on red tape.  Ground mounted solar projects should follow the same self-assessment and compliance declarations, rather than imposing external professional declarations to be drafted and presented to an electricity distribution or transmission company with no expertise in such matters, and likely no interest or statutory authority in such matters. Furthermore, it is unclear how this regulation would be implemented for systems that are not grid-connected, such as off-grid systems with no utility service.

  DER AC members recommend the following key areas for change to the currently proposed regulation proposing restrictions on ground-mounted solar projects:

 -Eliminate the blanket prohibition on ground-mounted solar connecting to residential dwellings; -Apply a setback requirement to residential properties that abut residential properties in urban areas;

 -Ease or eliminate the setback requirements where the ground-mounted solar facility is installed

 on a paved or finished parking area and shelters property (i.e. cars or farm property);

 -Allow for municipal exemption to these setback requirements;

 -Allow for municipal exemption to the prime agricultural land restrictions, in particular for

 those lands that have not yet been designated.

  Jim MacDougall (Compass)

   CC:

 Clark Herring (Great Circle Solar)

 Craig Walker (Hamilton Utilities Corporation)

 Michael Savel (Oakville Entreprises Corporation)

 Peter Goodman (Solar Power Network)

 Peter Vogel (Tandem Solar)

 Steve Ray (Essex Energy Corporation)

 Vikram Sigh (Alectra)

 Mohan Wang (Polaron)

 Sarah Simmons (Power Advisory)

[Original Comment ID: 212066]