Home › microFIT rules › Eligibility requirements › Domestic content

Domestic content

Print

If you are applying for a solar PV microFIT contract, your project must meet domestic content requirements. These requirements ensure that a portion of your solar PV project is manufactured or produced in Ontario.

 

Requirements

The minimum required amount of Ontario-based content will increase over time and is determined by the year that a project reaches commercial operation. The minimum requirements are:

 

 

Minimum Domestic Content Level

Year of Commercial Operation

40 percent

2009 to 2010

60 percent

2011 and later

 

The list below outlines the components or “designated activities” that will contribute to meeting your domestic content requirements.  

Designated activities and percentage contribution

 

Designated Activity Qualifying
Percentage
1. Silicon that has been used as input to solar photovoltaic cells manufactured in an Ontario refinery. 10%
2. Silicon ingots and wafer, where silicon ingots have been cast in Ontario and wafers have been cut from the casting by a saw in Ontario. 12%
3. The crystalline silicon solar photovoltaic cells, where their active photovoltaic layer(s) have been formed in Ontario. 10%
4. Solar photovoltaic modules (i.e. panels), where the electrical connections between the solar cells have been made in Ontario, and the solar photovoltaic module materials have been encapsulated in Ontario 13%
5. Inverter, where the assembly, final wiring and testing has been done in Ontario. 9%
6. Mounting systems, where the structural components of the fixed or moving mounting systems, have been entirely machined or formed or cast in Ontario. The metal for the structural components may not have been pre-machined outside Ontario other than peeling/roughing of the part for quality control purposes when it left the smelter or forge. The machining and assembly of the mounting system must entirely take place in Ontario (i.e. bending, welding, piercing, and bolting). 9%
7. Wiring and electrical hardware that is not part of other designated activities (i.e., items 1, 2, 3, and 5 of this table), sourced from an Ontario supplier. 10%
8. All on- and off-site labour and services. For greater certainty, this designated activity shall apply in respect of all contract facilities. 27%
Total 100%


Example

To meet the domestic content requirements for a solar PV project reaching commercial operation on or before December 31, 2010, the project could be constructed with:

  • an Ontario mounting system
  • Ontario hardware
  • Ontario labour.

The total domestic content of the project would be 46 percent and therefore would meet the 40 percent minimum domestic content level.

Responsibilities of the microFIT contract holder

To demonstrate that your project meets the domestic content requirements, you must:

  • obtain a written confirmation from the equipment suppliers or installers and provide this to the OPA upon request
  • indicate the achieved “designated activities” at the time the microFIT contract is offered.

 

Click here for further details and updates on domestic content.

Please note that suppliers of solar PV products and services that register for the OPA's Renewable Energy Technologies Vendor List are not pre-qualified for the domestic content requirements of the FIT or microFIT programs. The OPA is developing the vendor list at the request of the Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure for the exclusive use of school boards and social housing providers. The vendor list is not part of the FIT or microFIT Programs. For more information on the vendor list, visit retvendorlist.powerauthority.on.ca.