1. Background

An important component of the Government of Canada's ecoENERGY initiatives is the ecoENERGY for Renewable Power program (hereto referred as ecoENERGY RP), which represents an investment of about $1.5 billion over 14 years. The program will encourage the production of 14.3 terawatt hours of electricity from low-impact renewable energy sources, such as wind, hydro, biomass, solar photovoltaics and marine energy (which includes tidal and wave energy technologies installed in oceans or rivers).

Natural Resources Canada is updating the terms and conditions of the ecoENERGY RP based on its first year of program operation to clarify issues raised by clients and to adjust some parameters that will improve the delivery of the program.  Natural Resources Canada may amend these terms and conditions from time to time to provide additional information on eligibility criteria and other program requirements.

Since its introduction, interest in the ecoENERGY RP program has grown significantly, as can be attested by the number of projects registered to date. The tremendous interest in the program has necessitated changes to the program's approval process (Section 3).

It is estimated that the program will support about 4 000 MW of renewable power capacity. As Natural Resources Canada gets closer to achieving this capacity target in commissioned projects, the program may stop registering new project applications.