The Ontario Solar Network is holding a town hall meeting in Vaughn, Ontario -- just north of Toronto on July 22nd (see details at this link), to send a message to the OPA and Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure that a sudden proposal to retroactively lower the 80.2 cent feed in tariff for ground mount systems is terrible for the overall stability of the program. The burgeoning solar industry, that has already created hundreds if not thousands of much needed jobs, spent nine months convincing consumers that the program was real and they would get paid a guaranteed rate for 20 years. Others have done their fair share of convincing manufacturers to step up to the plate in 2011 with competitively priced domestic content for solar systems (a number which will need to be 60% of a system in 2011). And then there is the risk adverse bankers and other financiers that have taken a long time to get over the "is solar real" hurdle, only to see this sudden change and find yet another reason to hold back on the money.

Consumers and the industry need to make their voices known -- this is about a 20 year cash flow coming into much needed communities, a smarter distributed power grid, the elimination of dirty coal fire plants and the end to more "stranded debt" charges for multi-billion dollar nuclear plants that are sitting on undisposable waste for the rest of time. This is about a government making a promise and commitment to the people of Ontario and sticking with it. This is about transparency and honesty, and getting on with an otherwise great thing.