When the Ontario government announced a solar power initiative in 2007 that hoped to create 100,000 solar installations and 50,000 jobs, John Hubman could see good things coming in the future.
Last year, when the Ontario Power Authority (OPA) announced it was going to pay 80.2 cents per kilowatt hour as part of the microFIT (feed-in tariff), a queue started that swelled to 16,000 applicants for the program - 11,000 of which are applications for ground-mounted systems.
Needless to say Hubman, along with a good many more people in the manufacturing sector with ties to the solar industry, were not happy when the OPA and the McGuinty government in Ontario announced a roll-back in the tariff.
"Along with numerous other solar companies, we had phenomenal sales," Hubman said. "The OPA had guaranteed contracts for 20 years and they said they would review the rate by the end of 2011. As you know, that didn't happen."
Instead of keeping their initial promise of 80.2 cents/KWH, Hubman said the tariff was dropped to 58.8 cents/KWH for all ground-mounted systems - the day after the July 1 holiday. The reasoning for the tariff's drop, according to the OPA, was that ground-mounted systems (either tracking or fixed) were cheaper to install than a roof-mounted system.
Hubman denies that statement's validity, and is among the many waiting for the OPA to release the data that proves the claim. And with the majority of projects started that are ground-mounted systems, Hubman said the decision has left a lot of irate people.
"Everything was moving ahead flawlessly until the OPA decided to propose a rate cut on ground-mounted systems, to 58.8 cents/KWH," he said. "All the stakeholders were notified on July 2 - and it's inconceivable that applications would be held until the Friday afternoon before a long weekend ... at a time when our MPPs are going on holidays. This is only eight months after the process started, and a long way from the announced two year review period. There are farmers out there who borrowed money for these projects based on that 80 cent rate."
Hubman's company, H-Y Manufacturing, has seen cancellation orders come flowing in since the announcement, and he's upset that the OPA accepted applications until the July 2 switch - but hadn't granted any approvals.
"With a 10-year payback on a 20-year contract, the tracking systems were so popular because they're so efficient," he said. "You could make more off them and pay off the investment faster. But the OPA has clearly shown it favours roof-mounted systems - tell me what farmer is going to put one of these things on the roof of his barn? Where are they going to get insurance for something like that?"
A letter Hubman sent to Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty was met with a form letter in response, saying his concerns were passed along from McGuinty's office to that of Brad Duguid, the Minister of Energy and Infrastructure. And it's not just Hubman that finds this unacceptable.
"I have confidence in what the industry is saying, but if the government has more information on this topic it should release it immediately," Wellington-Halton Hills MPP Ted Arnott said.
"This is a huge issue for those people who have taken the government at their word. In some cases we're talking about hundreds of thousands of dollars being invested, and the government just changed the rules in the middle of the game."
The questioning didn't stop there. Gord Miller, the Environmental Commissioner of Ontario, said he has issued a request to the OPA for additional information to back up its financial claims. To date, he hasn't been provided with that information.
"The OPA is working on the assumption that roof-mounted systems are more expensive, and they've given some details but not the whole costing picture," he said. "Is the cost they have projected accurate? Is there an allowance for degradation of the equipment? There are a whole bunch of unanswered questions here."
Miller said the aim of the solar initiative was to engage more people in the creation of green energy, as well as helping to stimulate local business. In the end, the reversal in tariff prices may serve to accomplish nothing at all.
"To attract people and let them do all the work with the promise of 80 cents/KWH and then change the rules isn't fair or productive," Miller said. "If a private business made you an offer and you responded to it and then they changed it, we'd be saying that wasn't fair play without a doubt."
Hubman said he's heard rumours of a class action lawsuit that may be filed against the OPA and the government, but for H-Y Manufacturing it may be too late.
"As a local employer this has been disastrous - we're going backwards," he said. "We invested money in research and development, increased our workforce by 75 per cent ... and now we're looking at layoffs. We had planed to hire more people before this came along."
More than anything else, Hubman feels the McGuinty government's decision is hypocritical, given some of their other recent announcements.
"This is a real slap in the face," he said. "Samsung is coming in with their $7 billion deal with new jobs, but Elora won't see any of that spin-off. Smaller manufacturers can create more jobs and make them steadier than one large manufacturer can. The government should honour all the contracts that are pending at the 80 cents they promised before the review was snuck in early."
Hubman encourages those wishing to comment on the issue to do so by visiting the OPA's website at www.microfit.powerauthority.on.ca. There is a link near the top of the main page to click on to submit questions. The deadline for comments is Tuesday, Aug. 3.