Proposed Revocation of O. Reg. 274/18, Siting Restrictions for Renewable Energy Generation Facilities

O. Reg. 274/18 – Siting Restrictions for Renewable Energy Generation Facilities is being revoked. This regulation placed provincial siting restrictions on renewable energy generation facilities (Projects) in relation to residential areas and agricultural land that complemented siting restrictions under existing environmental regulation to ensure that Projects were appropriately sited.

The requirements under the regulation included:

• Non-rooftop solar and wind facilities were not permitted to be connected to a customer account that falls within the distributor’s residential-rate classification;
• Non-rooftop solar projects were required to be set back 15 metres from any property boundary; and
• Non-rooftop solar projects were not allowed in prime agricultural areas or in areas where the prime agricultural area designation process had not been completed, if the project is larger than 10 kilowatts (kW).

However, on June 1st, 2019, the Green Energy Repeal Act, 2018 (GERA) restored municipal planning authority over the siting of new Projects through amendments to the Planning Act. Following the GERA and amendments to the Planning Act, O. Reg. 274/18 continued to apply to some Projects until the end of a transition period (August 31, 2019).

As the transition period has now expired, the regulation no longer applies to any Projects. Residential and agricultural concerns about the siting of a Project that were previously addressed through this regulation are now addressed through local municipal approvals.

O. Reg. 274/18 can be revoked as it is effectively spent.