A US wind company owned by Texas billionaire T Boone Pickens has lost a claim against Canada over Ontario’s feed-in tariff programme.
Mesa Power had accused the Ontario government of discrimination and sought $653m in damages for international trade violations.
The Dallas renewable energy company was pursuing 565MW of wind projects in southwestern Ontario but failed to win any FiT contracts when awards were made in 2011.
Mesa accused the province of failing to conduct an open and fair bidding process.
In a split decision an international tribunal has rejected Mesa’s claim that Canada violated the North American Free Trade Agreement.
The province welcomes the decision, said Dan Moulton, spokesman for Energy Minister Bob Chiarelli.
“Ontario will continue to work with the federal government as we consider the tribunal’s decision and next steps,” said Moulton.
The tribunal also ruled that Mesa should pay for all the costs of the arbitration, as well as C$2.9m towards Canada’s legal defence costs.
Mesa spokesman Cole Robertson said the company is reviewing the decision and the dissenting opinion and evaluating its options. “We do think they got this one wrong,” said Robertson.
Ontario cancelled the FiT program in 2013 and replaced it with a competitive renewable procurement regime.
Image: Freeimages
