The steps in the Process Protocol for the Long-Term 2 (LT2) Procurement Process are as follows:

1. Pre-engagement Confirmation meeting with City staff and Head’s Up to Ward Councillor
2. Public Notification and Consultation carried out by the Proponent
3. Request for Municipal Support Confirmation (MSC) submitted to staff
4. Request review by City staff
5. Report to Committee and Council on MSC Requests
6. Committee meetings to hear staff recommendations
7. Council decision on MSC Requests

1. Pre-engagement Confirmation with City staff and Ward Councillor

The pre-engagement step is the first opportunity for municipalities to raise any general questions or concerns about a project to the developer. Although developers may not have exact project details at this early stage of the process, they should be able to answer questions around best practices, safety characteristics, and likely impacts of a project. The following requirements will be outlined by staff as part of this step:

• Procedures for advising and working with Ward Councillors, providing public notice of projects and expectations for community engagement.
• Legislative timelines for reporting to Council on projects seeking Municipal Support Confirmations.
• What land use and siting requirements currently apply at the location for the proposed project (i.e. Official Plan and Zoning By-law provisions).
• Downstream approval requirements and associated timelines.
• Share any available best practice information for energy projects.

The IESO requires that proponents carry out this step by no later than sixty (60) days prior to the proposal submission deadline. Specifically, for LT2 (W-1 Energy stream), this step must be completed by no later than July 18.

Requests for Pre-engagement Confirmation are to be submitted by e-mail to regf_iper@ottawa.ca. Staff will schedule a meeting to discuss the proposal and answer questions related to the Process Protocol, as well as the items as outlined in the Proponent’s Checklist for Pre-engagement Confirmation

Following the meeting, City staff will ensure that all required information has been submitted. Upon acceptance, City staff shall advise proponents to provide the Ward Councillor and the Councillors of all Wards within a one kilometer radius of the site with a “heads up” e-mail indicating the location and nature of the proposed project, and the timing for a virtual Community Information and Comment Session to be held. Proponents may be asked to meet with the Ward Councillor to discuss proposals in advance.

2. Public Notification and Consultation to be carried out by the Proponent

Proponents must provide written notice of the proposal and seek comments on the proposal as soon as possible to:

1. The City Clerk;
2. The Ward Councillors identified by City staff and the Member of Parliament for that constituency;
3. Registered community groups;
4. All owners or occupants of residential property within a 120 metre radius from the lot on which the project is to be located. Projects proposed in the rural area should consider a larger radius to ensure sufficient notice is provided where larger lots are expected;
5. Technical agencies including Hydro Ottawa or Hydro One (whichever service area the project is located in), the National Capital Commission, and the applicable Conservation Authority;
6. The City Clerk of any neighbouring municipalities which are within a 1 kilometre radius of the project location.

Written notice shall contain, at a minimum, the following:

1. A project website, including contact information (i.e. mailing address, phone number and e-mail address).
2. A description of the proposed project including a) legal name of the proponent, b) name of the project, c) technology type, and d) maximum potential contract capacity.
3. A summary of the Proponent’s Checklist document
4. A map showing the location of the proposed project on the site, as well as its proximity to adjacent properties
5. A site plan of the proposed project at a minimum 1:200 scale
6. A site plan of the proposed project superimposed on an aerial photo
7. Notice of the date and time for a virtual Community Information and Comment Session to be held, no earlier than 14 days and no later than 20 days from the date of mailing the notice or publication in the Councillor newsletter or community newspaper.

Notice information shall also be shared on the City’s dedicated Engage Ottawa website. If at any point during this process the proposal is revised, the proponent must advise staff and the Ward Councillor of these changes as soon as possible. If revisions to the proposal include a change in location or size of a project. City staff will advise the proponent whether a resubmission of materials is required.

Notice of a Community Information and Comment Session:

Proponents intending to submit proposals under Window 1 (Energy) of the LT2 RFP must convene a virtual Community Information and Comment Session. Dates are to be determined based on input from the Ward Councillor, and included in the public notice.

3. Request for Municipal Support Confirmation (MSC) submitted to staff

Formal requests by proponents to be considered as part of a report to Council on requests for Municipal Support Confirmation, specific to the LT2 RFP – Window 1 (Energy), must be received by e-mail to regf_iper@ottawa.ca by no later than Friday, August 8, 2025. The following is to be included with the request:

1. Confirmation of the date that all technical agencies and public bodies identified in this protocol are to be notified of the proposal;
2. Copies of any e-mail or written submissions made by the public or registered community groups and all responses;
3. A record of attendees to the information and comment session, including a summary of comments and responses.

4. Request review by City staff

Staff will review the submitted documents and make a recommendation to Committee(s) based on the following:

1. Conformity with Official Plan policies;
2. Comments received from the public, registered community groups, technical agencies and public bodies;
3. Any other reasonable land use issue identified by City staff.

5. Report to Committee and Council on MSC Requests

City staff will bring a report to consider MSC requests to the September 3, 2025 Agricultural and Rural Affairs Committee and the September 16, 2025 Environment and Climate Change Committee. The report will rise to City Council on September 24, 2025. A link to the report will be uploaded on this page once it is posted to the City’s website, approximately ten (10) days prior to the first committee meeting.

6. Committee meetings to hear staff recommendations

Standing Committee meetings in Ottawa are part of the city's decision-making process, where issues are discussed in detail before recommendations are brought to City Council for a decision. Committee meetings are open to the public and can be attended virtually or in person. Members of the public may provide either written or oral submissions (or both) to committee meetings related to items on the Committee’s agenda, however, it is only at standing committee meetings that you may make a presentation. Anyone may register to speak by contacting the Committee Coordinator using the contact information shown at the top of the meeting agenda.

7. Council decision on MSC Requests

Decisions on the requests for MSC will be voted on at the September 24, 2025 meeting of City Council.

8. Submission of the Proposal to the IESO and Contract issuance

Evidence of municipal support by way of a Municipal Support Confirmation is mandatory to be eligible to bid under the LT2 procurement process. Proponents are responsible for making applications within IESO’s established timing windows for the LT2 procurement.

9. Municipal and Provincial approvals process

As soon as any selected proponents have been announced by the IESO, they are encouraged to initiate the Pre-consultation process with Development Review staff in the Planning, Development and Building Services Department. It is also recommended that proponents retain qualified expertise (e.g. consulting planners, engineers) and start working on required background studies, including scoping of these studies, as early as possible to avoid delays in navigating between the municipal and provincial approvals process, should they receive a contract.

On June 6, 2024, a ministerial directive was issued jointly by the Ministry of Energy and the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. This letter gave policy direction to proponents that:

1. Ground-mounted solar projects in prime agricultural areas are prohibited. Prime agricultural areas in Ottawa are designated Agricultural Resource Area and shown on Schedule B9 of the Official Plan.
2. Projects proposed to be located in prime agricultural areas, that are not ground-mounted solar, are required to complete an Agricultural Impact Assessment (AIA) to the satisfaction of the municipality. The purpose of an AIA is meant to evaluate the potential impacts of non-agricultural uses on the agricultural system.

All eligible projects that are proposed in Prime Agricultural Areas require the completion of an Agricultural Impact Assessment (AIA). There are three components of an AIA (avoid, minimize, and mitigate), which may be completed in two different stages for projects proposed under the LT2 RFP:

• Stage 1: AIA Component One Requirement considers ways to avoid potential impacts (e.g., prevent impacts, where possible, through a project location process that considers options outside prime agricultural areas and lower priority soils, if necessary).
  1. Component One must be met as of the Proposal submission deadline.
  2. Confirmation that the AIA Component One Requirement has been completed to the satisfaction of the Local Municipality is evidenced via the Municipal Support Confirmation.
• Stage 2: AIA Components Two and Three Requirement considers strategies to minimize potential impacts (e.g., keep impacts to a minimum by incorporating specifics in the design of a project or operational plan) and approaches to mitigate potential impacts (e.g., adopt measures to reduce the severity of impacts such as noise, dust and traffic). Components Two and Three Requirement must be met within 18-months of the IESO awarding a Contract.
  1. Confirmation that the AIA Components Two and Three Requirement has been completed to the satisfaction of the Local Municipality is evidenced via Exhibit T: Form of AIA Confirmation Certificate of the LT2 Contract.

These requirements are completed by the developer and then reviewed to the satisfaction of the Local Municipality. To support the completion and review of the AIA requirements, the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food, and Agribusiness has published guidelines documents here: OMAFA Guidelines for the LT2 AIA Component One Requirement. The OMAFA Guidelines for the LT2 AIA Component Two and Three Requirement have not been published yet. In addition, the IESO has posted an updated LT2 Agricultural Impact Assessment FAQ on their website.