Ontario’s Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) has approved 12 solar projects with a combined capacity of 915.1 MW through the province’s Long-Term 2 (LT2) Energy Window 1 procurement exercise.
It has also agreed on two new wind projects totaling 400 MW, marking the first major competitive procurement of new wind and solar resources in over a decade within the Canadian province.
The 14 projects represent over 1.3 GW of new capacity cumulatively. Together, they are set to add more than 3 TWh of new annual capacity to Ontario’s grid, representing enough power for more than 350,000 homes across the province.
Each of the projects includes at least 50% Indigenous equity ownership. The approved solar projects range from 9 MW to 200 MW in capacity and include four projects over 100 MW in size.
The bid window results lists the largest solar projects as the 200 MW Dunns Valley Solar site, 167.2 MW CarbonFree Fort Frances project, 154 MW CarbonFree Kynoch project and 141.25 MW Massey Solar project.
Details on IESO’s website add that it is currently in the process of executing contracts with the selected proponents and will publish the associated prices once contracts have been fully executed, which is expected by May.
The LT2 procurement exercise was first announced in 2024. The chosen projects are being awarded 20-year agreements and are expected to begin commercial operation by the start of May 2030.
Vittoria Bellissimo, President and CEO of The Canadian Renewable Energy Association (CanREA), commented that the procurement results are a clear signal that renewable energy is ready to meet the challenge of rapid growth.
In February, CanREA told pv magazine Canada’s cumulative solar capacity could surge to 21 GW by the middle of next decade, up from around 5.4 GW today, largely driven by forthcoming utility-scale procurements. The association added that nine of Canada’s provinces are hosting forthcoming calls.
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