Ground-Mounted Solar Projects on Agricultural Lands

As a result of new direction by the Minister of Energy, the Ontario Power Authority (OPA) cannot sign new, or amend existing Feed-in Tariff (FIT) contracts for ground-mounted solar projects that are greater than 10 kilowatts on the following agricultural lands:

Prime agricultural land, identified as Canada Land Inventory (CLI) Classes 1 to 3 land
- There are some exceptions, such as land located within an airport. A complete list of the exceptions is contained in the July 11, 2012 ministerial directive.
Organic soil
Specialty Crop Areas, which currently include the Niagara Peninsula, Holland Marsh and parts of Grey County. Maps of these areas can be found here:

More information on classes of land can be found in the Canada Land Inventory database. The official CLI mapping for a proposed project location may be downloaded by clicking here.

Properties that are entirely non-prime agricultural land (Classes 4 to 7 or Unclassified as identified in the CLI) may be eligible for ground-mounted solar.

More information on the Feed-in Tariff Program and eligibility criteria is available on the OPA website.

Questions or Comments

If you have questions on how to obtain a FIT contract, please contact the Ontario Power Authority at 1-888-387-3403 or FIT@powerauthority.on.ca

Official CLI Mapping for the Feed-in Tariff Program

Technical Note: In Adobe Reader version 9.x or earlier PDF maps may appear black, until the user activates the zoom or scroll function. For better PDF viewing results use Adobe Reader X.