Financing Renewable Energy: Green Energy Act Finance Forum
Investment in renewable energy continues to make the headlines across the world, and recently even more so in Ontario. Al Gore has called the Green Energy Act "the single best green energy [program] on the North American continent. A recently-announced $7 billion deal with Samsung to manufacture and deploy renewable energy technologies is a clear sign of government commitment to building a renewable energy sector.
Ontario's new Green Energy and Economy Act stars a compelling policy to support the growth and development of the renewable energy (RE) sector in the province - a Feed In Tariff (FIT) modelled upon European precedents that in essence awards lucrative long term contacts to approved RE project developers who utilize locally manufactured technologies in their projects. In order to leverage FIT market opportunity, and facilitate a large-scale deployment of renewable energy infrastructure, a number of financial instruments (equity, debt, venture), financial institutions (pension funds, banks, private equity, mutual funds) and other sector players (suppliers and operators) need to be engaged.
To date, most investment interest in Ontario's FIT projects has come from international markets familiar with FIT regimes but the time is ripe for Canadian finance to get in the game.
This Friday January 29th, the Green Energy Act Finance Forum will present financial sector attendees with information about the investment opportunities presented by the new Ontario Green Energy Act, and methods of participation in the market, including sector player and project presentations.
Attendees will learn about the risks and rewards of investment in Ontario's FIT market from experienced international RE financiers including: Jérôme Guillet, Dexia Crédit Local; Nils Mellquist, Deutsche Asset Management; Ben Warren, Ernst & Young UK; and Jim Woolsey, former Director of Central Intelligence, USA. Canadian experts include Don Roberts, CIBC World Markets; Andrew Grossman, Ogilvy-Renault; Remo Bucci, Deloitte; Dan Phaure, Jacob Securities; Deb Doncaster, CP Fund and many more. Also on the agenda are Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty, Ontario Deputy Minister of Energy and Infrastructure Saäd Rafi, and Jason Chee-Aloy of the Ontario Power Authority (OPA).
For a complete agenda, speaker bios and to register, visit www.marsdd.com/greenenergyforum.
What: Green Energy Act Finance Forum
When: Friday January 29th 2010, 7:45 am - 3:45 pmWhere: MaRS Discovery District, 101 College St., Toronto, ON
Cost: $200
Register at: www.marsdd.com/greenenergyforum
For more information, contact Rebecca Black at reblacka@gmail.com.
Interview with Tom Rand, Practice Lead, Cleantech, MaRS
marketing a sustainable future for organizations that seek to balance
social, ecological, and economic returns. She can be reached at
reblacka@gmail.com.
This guest post was authored by Rebecca Black - the founder of Black Current, a company dedicated to marketing a sustainable future for organizations that seek to balance social, ecological, and economic returns. She can be reached at reblacka@gmail.com.
