The Canadian province of Nova Scotia has ended a renewable energy scheme.

The initiative, Nova Scotia Community Feed-in Tariff (COMFIT), was designed to encourage community-based, local renewable energy projects.

It did this by guaranteeing a rate per kilowatt-hour for the energy the project fed into the province’s electrical grid.

The decision will mean initially there will be lower energy prices for users.

On 6th August the provincial government announced: “This is the right time to bring COMFIT to a close; it has achieved its objectives.

“We are now at a point where the programme could begin to have a negative impact on power rates.

“Nova Scotians have told us they want stability and affordability when it comes to power rates and industry wants clarity on the future of the COMFIT programme.”

COMFIT promoted the generation of electricity from wind, tidal, hydro and biomass resources. It was the world’s first feed-in tariff for locally-based renewable energy projects.

Canada is not the first country where a feed-in tariff (FIT) scheme has been ended. The UK recently stopped supporting onshore wind and solar energy.