TORONTO — An ambitious plan to attract investment in renewable energy to Ontario will mean slightly higher energy bills for consumers, mandatory energy audits for residents selling homes, and more solar panels and wind turbines dotting the province's roofs and landscape.

The Liberal government says the plan will transform the province into one of the most attractive places for green energy investments and create 50,000 jobs over three years -- but critics are calling the blueprint vague and short on specifics.

"The earliest investments and most of the jobs are related to a substantial new investment in transmission system and also in distribution systems," Energy Minister George Smitherman said Monday after introducing the Green Energy Act.

"If 25,000 rooftops in the City of Toronto were to be transitioned to use for solar, that puts a lot of pressure on Toronto Hydro at the distributed generation side to get those connected."

The legislation doesn't include details on how the jobs will be created, though Smitherman said the plan will boost work in construction, trucking and engineering. Architects, contractors and installers are also expected to gain more work as they are asked to retrofit buildings for energy efficiency.

The plan will also allow homeowners to become small-time energy producers, since they will be encouraged to sell any extra electricity they produce into the grid. A small increase in electricity bills will result from a call for $5 billion in incremental investments over three years.

"We anticipate that associated with the investments that I'm speaking about today, (the increase will be) approximately one per cent per year," Smitherman said.

"But please keep in mind what we're trying to do that as well is equip people with the capacity to operate ... using less electricity."

The act will streamline project approvals, mandate more efficient appliances, and provide low-interest loans to homeowners who wish to build their own small-scale wind or solar projects.

"From the farm side, we're definitely going to be looking at hiring people in to do construction," said Don McCabe, vice-president of the Ontario Federation of Agriculture.

"Some farmers will become wind-farm developers themselves, but that will mean they'll be hiring expertise to do that."

Critics said the legislation can only go so far without specifics such as targets for green energy or a clear explanation of where the expected new jobs will come from.

The act introduced Monday only sets out a framework for change, with details expected to take months to work out.

"The act is a great vehicle (but) we're going to see within the next few weeks if it's actually going to genuinely expand green power," said Greenpeace's Shawn-Patrick Stensil.

He said Smitherman also has to decide if he has "the courage to say no to the nuclear lobby."

Environmentalists have called repeatedly for a move away from nuclear energy and said the act won't help if the province sticks to its plan to have nuclear provide 50 per cent of Ontario's electricity needs.

The province maintains the reliability of nuclear and hydro electricity is what gives it the certainty to venture into renewables.

The act also includes provincewide standards on where new wind turbines and solar farms can be located, taking that power away from municipalities.

Premier Dalton McGuinty has warned activists and municipalities he won't tolerate any objections to new wind turbines or solar farms that aren't based on safety or environmental concerns.

The Association of Municipalities of Ontario responded positively to the announcement, noting the proposed legislation could mean an increase in revenues to municipalities.

"In times like these, we all have to embrace opportunities," said association president Peter Hume.

"And there are plenty of new opportunities for municipalities in these green energy proposals."