Solar farm gains from program

NEWCASTLE, Ontario, July 16 (UPI) -- A former apple orchard turned solar farm is taking advantage of a new Ontario Power Authority Renewable Energy Standard Offer Program.

Scott Stevens is producing a greener crop than ever on his Newcastle farm. His new business, Watts Up Solar, is the first solar photovoltaic generating facility to have received a contract to produce energy through the Ontario Power Authority's Renewable Energy Standard Offer Program, Durhamregion.com reported.

The SOP allows businesses and entrepreneurs the chance to produce and sell renewable power to the grid by setting a fixed price for 20 years to smaller generation projects. For the type of energy being produced at Watts Up, that means a guarantee of 42 cents per kilowatt hour for the next 20 years.

The solar farm became operational June 13, and since then Stevens says it has generated about 1,780 kilowatt hours of power.

This is exactly the type of project the Ontario Power Authority was hoping for when it launched the SOP, said Peter Love, Ontario's chief conservation officer, who was on hand for Watts Up's grand opening.

"I'm a strong believer in small projects like this," Love said. "We launched a program and we didn't know what would happen. But we launched it and they did come."