FAQ
Questions, answers, action.

About Micro Hydro

Hydropower systems can provide a reliable source of electricity all year around, though generation is usually higher in winter than summer. This makes hydropower a relatively predictable source of renewable energy.

There are thousands of potential sites for new small-scale hydropower schemes. Together these could generate useful amounts of electricity, with minimal environmental impact, provided that they are carefully located and properly designed, installed and maintained.

A hydropower scheme can reduce your community’s greenhouse gas emissions. The electricity generated can help to reduce your energy costs and produce some income from the generation of power and the sale of any surplus electricity.

Hydropower schemes harness the energy from flowing water to generate electricity, using a turbine or other device. The volume of flowing water and the height it falls determines how much electricity can be generated.

Screw generators can be used almost anywhere there is between 1 meter and 10 meters of water drop and from about 100 liters per second to 10,000 liters per second flow rate.
This includes:

  • small low head dams that exist for irrigation, drinking water reservoirs, recreational & flood control processes.
  • replacement of older turbine plants
  • at outlets of waste water treatment plants
  • on irrigation weirs and channels
  • natural waterfall sites
  • on fast moving rivers that provide the opportunity to gain the minimum head requirement with a short diversion channel.

There has been a lot of publicity around wind and solar power, but not much on water power. But water power has been around for a long time. Water power runs 24 hours a day, every day. Whereas wind and solar are “hope” power. You “hope” the sun shines and you “hope” the wind blows.

Therefore you have to have another source of power for when the sun doesn’t shine, which is half the day, and another source of power for when the wind doesn’t blow. Therefore you have to invest in another power system to supply power when wind and solar don’t. With hydro you don’t need that, which is partly why it is most cost effective.

About Leasing Your Site and Investing

GreenBug accepts all pre-development risk. If for some reason, the project does not proceed to contruction because environmental approvals could not be obtained, etc, GreenBug bears the costs incurred to that point. GreenBug also accepts all implementation risk on construction of the project. If costs to develop the site are higher than projected GreenBug bears the extra costs.

There are thousands of potential sites for new small-scale hydropower schemes. Together these could generate useful amounts of electricity, with minimal environmental impact, provided that they are carefully located and properly designed, installed and maintained.

A hydropower scheme can reduce your community’s greenhouse gas emissions. The electricity generated can help to reduce your energy costs and produce some income from the generation of power and the sale of any surplus electricity.

You will be notified and the lease becomes null and void.

We will try again in the next FIT application window. If at some point we determine that we will not be able to obtain a FIT contract, you will be notified and the lease will become null and void.

After a FIT contract has been awarded and after all approvals have been obtained and after a detailed project plan has been prepared and the project is “shovel ready”, the final project plan will be provided and you will have a certain amount of time to respond and make your investment.

If you wish to invest further in the project another entity has to be created to allow that investment.

Therefore the lease provides a provision that allows the lease to be transferred to a limited partnership which GreenBug owns a minimum 25% of. This new entity will then apply for the FIT contract and own the installation.

You will invest to acquire equity in this new organization which owns the installation.

Total project cost x % of the equity you wish to acquire in the project.

Yes, the lease provides an option to acquire up to 49% of total equity in the project.

A water management plan is developed as part of the detailed project plan in consultation with the site owner and appropriate authorities. The plan details who can manage the water levels and how. When complete the water management plan becomes part of the lease.

When initially signing the lease, you will be leasing the site to GreenBug Energy Inc. However, GreenBug can and likely will transfer the lease to a limited partnership to facilitate investment in the project by parties other than itself, such as further investment by you the site owner/lessor, or further investment by other parties such as the local municipality or other investors.
GreenBug will maintain a minimum 25% equity interest in the project via the new limited partnership.

We will attempt to obtain another FIT contract and extend the lease. If another FIT contract cannot be obtained the lease contains provisions to extend the lease if another “arrangement” can be found. The term other arrangement is loosely defined in the lease as it is uncertain what arrangements or programs may be present 40 years from now that will allow continued sale of electricity. One possible arrangement is net metering.

If we are not able to extend the lease, you could require us to remove the system or you could purchase it at fair market value.

The original term of the lease is for 40 years to match the FIT contract term of 40 years. The lease has several provisions which allow the lease term to be extended if another FIT contract can be obtained or if another arrangement or mechanism can be found.

The lease is registered on the title to the property. Therefore the new owner of your property will become the lessor, and will receive the lease payments.

Situation A) Your site is developed with GreenBug as the leasor. This means GreenBug owns 100% of the installation.In this case, generally your lease is unaffected. We believe any successor organization would want to continue to operate the system in order to generate income and pay your share to you.

Situation B) Your site is developed with a Limited Partnership as the leasor and GreenBug owns part of the Limited Partnership. If GreenBug goes out of business, GreenBugs’ asset, consisting of the equity investment in the Limited Partnership, would be sold to another party. There is no effect on the lease between you (the leasor) and the Limited Partnership (The leasee)

No your property taxes will not go up. In Ontario, Any water power installation does not affect property taxes.

Hydro-electric generating stations are not subject to property tax. In its place, they are subject to a provincial Gross Revenue Charge (GRC), based on the gross revenue (regulated rate) and actual generation of the facility.

For further information, you can check out the following links:
http://www.rev.gov.on.ca/en/tax/grc/index.html
http://www.rev.gov.on.ca/en/bulletins/grc/1_2002.html

About Us

No, we are not a charity, we are a for profit corporation. We don’t accept donations.