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HARE has a new website

Hey folks!

Thank you so kindly for visiting us here on hamiltonhare.wordpress.com. We have recently moved our site to a new domain and would like you to come visit us there (hamiltonhare.org)!

We will be dismantling this site over the next while, but have already ported all content to the new site, and added even more.

So go on over, have a look around, and if you have any questions or comments, please let us know through the comment options on our blog entries, or through the comment form on our Contact us page.

GECO web site is now live

Preparations are going very well for our upcoming public meetings on October 16th and 23rd in Hamilton to describe what HARE is doing in partnership with GECO and how you can get involved. For a little more information about the Green Energy Co-operative of Ontario, please have a look at the new GECO web site.

We hope to see you at one of the meetings so we can get to know each other and create one or more highly successful renewable energy projects in Hamilton!

If you are interested in learning more, but cannot make the meetings, please contact us at hamiltonhare@gmail.com.

Solar energy investment opportunity comes to Hamilton

HAMILTON, ONTARIO – The Hamilton Association for Renewable Energy is pleased to announce a new partnership with the Green Energy Co-operative of Ontario to bring competitive and affordable solar investment opportunities to all Hamiltonians.

“Hamiltonians told us they wanted an opportunity to invest in affordable, accessible, renewable energy projects right here in our City,” says Beatrice Ekoko, coordinator at Environment Hamilton. “Well, now they do, thanks to HARE.”

The Hamilton Association for Renewable Energy or “HARE” recently entered into a working relationship with the Green Energy Cooperative of Ontario or “GECO” to bring solar investment opportunities to Hamiltonians and solar projects to Hamilton.

GECO provides the possibility for residents of Ontario to invest directly in Renewable Energy projects made possible through the Ontario Power Authority’s Feed-In Tariff (FIT) program.

“We teamed up with GECO because we know that the long-term investment opportunity they are providing matches well with the need and desire for more renewable energy in our City,” explains HARE founding member, Nadine Bernacki. “We want to see solar projects happening on mores roofs throughout the City sooner rather than later.”

To date, the FIT program has been very successful in attracting investment to Ontario in large-scale renewable energy projects, homeowner rooftop projects (micro-FIT), and ground-mounted rural solar projects. However, few community-based projects have been developed to date. The second round of contracts under the FIT program has addressed this situation by setting aside contracts for community-based developers, such as co-operatives.

“The great thing about this opportunity with GECO is that you don’t need to have a suitable roof on your own home to participate, and you don’t need to come up with $25,000 in order to invest,” notes HARE founding member Dave Carson. “In fact, anyone with at least $400 can purchase a share in GECO and earn steady and long-term returns from the development of solar rooftop projects in Hamilton and throughout Ontario.”

The Ontario Power Authority, which operates the FIT program, has established a few rules for eligibility. One of the key rules is that to be eligible for a set-aside contract, a co-operative must have at least 50 members who own property in the same municipality as the renewable energy project in order to demonstrate community support for the project.

“All Hamiltonians can take advantage of this opportunity to earn a competitive return on their investment, but HARE needs at least 50 people who have owned property for at least two years to become members of GECO and to commit to investing in solar energy in Hamilton,” concludes Carson.

To learn more about how to invest in renewable energy in Hamilton, residents are invited to attend one or both of our public meetings:

Tuesday, October 16 at 7 p.m., Westdale Library – 955 King Street West
Tuesday, October 23 at 7 p.m., Central Library – 55 York Boulevard

More information about the Hamilton Association for Renewable Energy, please email us at hamiltonhare@gmail.com.

Please click the following link to view a PDF version of this press release.

 

Public meetings to be held to announce the partnership of HARE and GECO

The Hamilton Association for Renewable Energy (HARE) and the Green Energy Co-operative of Ontario (GECO) will be announcing their partnership at two public meetings.  These will be held:

Tuesday October 16^th at 7pm at the Westdale Library, 955 King St. West

and

Tuesday October 23^rd at 7pm at the Hamilton Public Library Central Branch, 55 York Boulevard.

At these meetings, you will be able to learn more about the two organizations, how to join and participate, and about the opportunities to invest in renewable energy projects in Hamilton.  Joining the groups does not obligate you to extensive participation or investment, just the chance to be a part of our eco-active group.