Developing a successful and profitable renewable energy project on the Ontario FIT and MicroFIT requires planning. Learn what steps you should be taking to plan your solar, wind, hydro / water, biogas / biomass / landfill gas project.
Detail
The Community Energy Partnerships Program (CEPP) is a new grant program to support community power in Ontario. The program is designed to assist community power projects through funding support in the form of grants of up to $200,000. The CEPP is brought to you by the Community Power Fund in partnership with Deloitte, and has been made possible by the Ontario Power Authority and the Government of Ontario.
In the fall of 2009, the Ontario Minister of Energy and Infrastructure directed the Ontario Power Authority (OPA) to establish the Community Energy Partnerships Program to facilitate the participation of Ontario communities in the development of renewable energy generation facilities; in particular to assist communities in paying for some of the soft costs associated with the development of renewable energy projects.
Eligibility Requirement for projects that can apply to CEPP?
Projects must satisfy all of the following criteria:
- SIZE: Greater than 10 kW up to 10 MW
- TECHNOLOGY: Wind, solar PV, biomass, biogas, landfill gas or waterpower
- LOCATION: Located in Ontario
- BUSINESS CASE: Economically viable and the subject of a future FIT
contract
- DEVELOPER: Developed by a Community
What is a community as defined by the program?
Applicant must be 100% community as defined in the FIT Rules. In general this means individuals, non-profits, coops, private corporations and limited partnerships.
The program has two types of grant. The two types of grants include:
Grant 1: Design & Development
Grant 2: Regulatory Approvals
- Maximum total CEPP grant is $200,000 per project
- CEPP will cover up to 90% of the actual costs of each eligible activity
- Only restriction on other funding is cannot obtain funding from another OPA administered program, including the Aboriginal Energy Partnerships Program
You may apply at any stage after 'pre-feasibility'. Funding ends at FIT Notice to Proceed. CEPP will not fund work that has been carried out or undertaken before submission of a completed grant application. CEPP funds will be disbursed upfront and after achieving milestones for each set of activities, 10% of funds will be held back until all deliverables submitted. You can expect to be notified of a decision within 2 3 months of submission
of a complete application.
Grant 1, Design and Development request have the following pre-requisites:
- Landowner Memorandum of Interest (where relevant) template posted
online
- Ontario Wind, Solar, Hydro Atlas projections or other preliminary resource
assessment
- Detailed Site Plan
- Local Distribution Company (LDC) consultation report
- RETScreen financial analysis
- Completed CEPP Budget
NOTE: Some projects may have additional prerequisites for G1 and/or G2 based on the specific technology used.
Grant 1 funded activities include:
- Site investigation and control
- Resource assessment
- Site planning
- Environmental and regulatory analysis
- Business plan development
- Site-specific studies (transportation, noise, bird &
bat)
- Community consultation
- Engineering studies
- Project manager or Project coordinator
- Legal costs
Grant 2 Regulatory Approvals Phase
Pre-requisites:
- Feed In Tariff (FIT) Contract or placement into the FIT production line or Economic Connection Test queue
- Completion of all required G1 activities relevant to your project
- CEPP G2 Application Form & Budget
Funded activities include:
- Renewable Energy Approval (REA)
- Other Environmental and Regulatory Approvals
- Final Business Plan
- Connection Impact Assessment
- Supplier Agreements
- Construction Contracts
- ESA Approval
- Operating and Maintenance Agreement
- Offering Document / Membership agreement
- Sales and Marketing Plan (to find Members / Investors)
- Project Manager or Project Coordinator
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