GREG POWELL, 11 MAY 2010

Ontario's new Green Energy Act provides a feed-in-tariff for anyone in the province who generates electricity from green, renewable sources. In other words, if you have a wind turbine and are connected to the grid, you can sell the electricity for $0.15/kWh. And if you generate power for the grid from photovoltaic panels, you receive $0.80/kWh. 

The feed-in tariff (or FIT) is a little controversial because rates may increase, which would further disadvantage low-income families. (George Monbiot holds no punches in his critique.) This is a valid concern that should be addressed, but the benefits of the FIT must not be thrown out with the proverbial bathwater. One possible solution is to create a program that assists low-income families with reducing demand for heat and electricity, perhaps by replacing an old fridge with a high-efficiency fridge, for example. Ontario farmers are reaping the rewards of the FIT, which may be a step toward preventing unemployment.

Alberta desperately needs to diversify its economy. We may be more vulnerable now than we were in the mid-1980s when OPEC ensured that the price of oil fell from ~$30/barrel to ~$10, crippling many Alberta families. A feed-in tariff may be an ideal way to accomplish that diversification, effectively "greening" our economy. (Note, of course, that electricity does not replace oil and that the two exist in completely different markets.) Rather than struggle from year to year to turn a profit by conventional means, Alberta farmers could generate a base revenue by selling electricity from, say, wind or solar concentrators, and sell food crops as well.

Let's monitor the success of Ontario's feed-in tariff while creating a policy framework for a FIT in Alberta as well, accounting for our uniquely deregulated system.