Solar panels and wind turbines will soon be more common in eastern Ontario, as the provincial government invests billions in renewable energy.

The province announced 184 new contracts for solar, wind, water and renewable biomass projects on Thursday, with one-third of those projects slated for eastern Ontario.

It's an $8-billion investment by the provincial government. The province expects private companies to invest another $9 billion over the next few years.

Higher energy bill

However, moving to green energy will cost consumers more, adding about $5 per month to your energy bill by the end of 2011. That figure is expected to rise in the coming decades.

That's because renewable energy producers will get a fixed price for the electricity they produce. For example, solar energy producers will be paid 80.2 cents per kilowatt hour. The market price currently sits at about four cents per kilowatt hour.

Moving away from coal

The renewable energy projects are part of a larger initiative to shut down Ontario's coal plants by 2014, and Ontario's energy minister says the investment is worth it.

"Right now, and in the past, we've been producing energy at the expense of the health of ourselves and our children," Brad Duguid told reporters on Thursday.

"This is an opportunity for us as a generation to move past that, to help clean up our air, to help provide a healthier future for our children."

Projects in eastern Ont.

There are currently 60 green energy projects marked for eastern Ontario. The government says those projects have the potential to put 900 megawatts back into the province's power grid.

Among the initiatives are three ground-mounted solar projects in the Cornwall area:

  • Northland Power: 10-megawatt project in Cornwall;
  • Effisolar: 10-megawatt project in South Glengarry;
  • Penn Energy: 10 megawatt project in South Glengarry.

The Ontario government has already approved 510 medium-sized renewable energy contracts across the province, and struck a $7-billion deal with a consortium led by Samsung to build solar and wind farms in Ontario.

It's expected the provincial-wide initiatives could generate 50,000 jobs across Ontario.

With files from CTV Toronto's Paul Bliss and CTV Ottawa's Catherine Lathem