Canadian Solar Inc. (Kitchener, Ontario) has begun site selection and approval for establishing a 200 MW silicon-based solar module manufacturing facility in Ontario. The company will nail down decisions on the specific site, cost and size in the first quarter of 2010 and begin construction soon thereafter.
Canadian Solar's efforts include exploration of federal and provincial programs to assist in building an Ontario-based manufacturing facility. The firm already has submitted a number of feed-in tariff (FIT) applications to Ontario Power Authority and reports customer interest for purchasing solar systems made in Ontario.
The company expects the facility could create 500 new manufacturing jobs in the area and sufficiently supply electricity to 60,000 homes per year. The plant's price tag is estimated at C$24 million ($23.23M). When finished, it stands to rank among the largest solar panel manufacturing facilities in North America.
Canadian Solar Inc. is a vertically integrated provider of solar cells, solar modules, custom-designed solar application products, and turnkey solutions for the residential, commercial and solar farm markets. The company's production base is in China.
