Envisaging feed-in tariffs for solar photovoltaic electricity: European lessons for Canada

The purpose of this article is to reflect upon this European experience with feed-in tariffs, to stimulate discussions regarding what promise they might hold for the development of solar photovoltaic electricity in Canada. The article is divided into three main sections. In the first section, policies to promote renewable electricity, presently in place in different parts of Canada, are reviewed. Attention is then focused, more specifically, in the second section of this article, upon 'feed-in tariffs'. After defining and describing this alternative system, experiences in the countries of the European Union are reviewed. The main strengths and weaknesses of feed-in tariffs-in the European experience-are also examined. The focus then moves back to Canada in the third section of the article. In this, a system of feed-in tariffs is proposed for the province of Ontario in order to provide just one example of the kind of support that could be forthcoming.