The Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA) categorically opposes the proposed solar power development at Belmont located partly in London and partly in Elgin County. This project would be located on prime farmland in contravention of the FIT regulations and in contravention of the Provincial !Farmland Protection policy and in contravention of the policies in the Official Plans for the affected municipalities.
The project was originally proposed as a RESOP project. It was ‘grandfathered’ into the FIT program by persons unknown. In doing so, these persons waived the FIT requirements with respect to prime farmland. They also waived the authority of the municipalities under the RESOP rules. In short, the project manages to avoid any regulation or scrutiny.