What is the Standard Offer Program (SOP), or Standard Offer Contract (SOC)?
The Ontario Standard Offer Program will pay you outright for every kWh produced through renewable energy sources. Under the contract, the power company will pay 42 cents per kWh for solar energy (photovoltaic), and 11 cents per kWh for all other forms of renewable energy. Contract duration is 20 years, and the rates are partially indexed for inflation. Renewable energy projects up to 10 MW are eligible.Even with the SOP in effect, it is still cheaper for small wind energy projects to opt for net metering, as long as you produce less than you use per year. The rate saved per kWh for net metering is 14.3 cents, at the time of this writing. That is more than the 11 cents per kWh you would receive under the SOP.The SOP does actually allow for a hybrid form of net metering. It is allowed to first use the produced energy to offset your own home, farm of business use, and get paid for the excess that is delivered to the grid. There are extra requirements and costs for this, such as an extra m
