There are currently no policies that enable the large-scale adoption of renewable energy that is possible in Canada.

Countries such as Germany, Spain and Japan are world leaders in renewable energy and provide clear examples of what can be quickly achieved if the right policy mechanisms are in place.

Their leadership and success is based on a set of common factors:

• Active political commitment for renewable energy
• Supportive education initiatives for research and development, training and public awareness
• Strong incentive systems to achieve wide public participation

Some of the policy measures already used around the world to support the development of renewable energy include: fuel taxes based on carbon content (e.g. Italy, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland); and mandates for ethanol and biodiesel blending (e.g. Brazil, India, United States).

Commonly used policy tools for installing renewable energy in buildings include renewable energy programs (e.g. solar rooftop initiatives) supported by capital incentives and/or low-interest loans (e.g. California, Germany, and Japan). 

For power generation, two policies are currently used worldwide: renewable portfolio standards (RPS) and feed-in tariffs, also known as advanced renewable tariffs (ARTs).

RPS is, in essence a target, for renewable energy and is currently used in Australia, Canada (Ontario and Nova Scotia), Japan, Poland, United Kingdom, and the United States (Texas).
 
Countries that are currently leading in manufacturing and installation of renewable energy systems have achieved their success by establishing what are known as advanced renewable energy tariffs (ARTs). The concept is simple – ARTs help connect renewable systems to the grid and then specify fixed prices to be paid for renewable energy generation.

Legislation determines the premiums to be paid for every kilowatt-hour of electricity generated from different renewable technologies. ARTs eliminate two of the biggest obstacles inhibiting renewable energy development – the ability to connect to the grid, and market uncertainty (by providing fair prices for an extended period of time to warrant the financial risk of investment).