BEIJING, Dec. 4, 2009 (Xinhua News Agency) -- China-based solar products manufacturer Canadian Solar (NASDAQ:CSIQ) Inc. (CSIQ.Nsadaq) said that it is selecting the site and starting the approvals process to establish a 200-Megawatt (MW) module manufacturing facility in Canada's Ontario.
Canadian Solar expects to make definite decisions about the plant site, cost and ultimate size in the first quarter of 2010.
The new facility is expected to result in 500 new direct manufacturing jobs in Ontario and have sufficient capacity to supply electricity to 60,000 homes per year.
The estimated cost of the plant will be 24 million Canadian dollars, and once completed, it will be one of the largest solar panel manufacturing facility in North America, further strengthening Canadian Solar's position as the country's leading, Canadian-owned manufacturer of solar modules.
The plant will be completed in stages, with the first phase of operations expected to commence in 2010.
Canadian Solar has recently submitted a significant number of feed-in-tariff (FIT) applications to the Ontario Power Authority and has also received considerable customer interest for "Made in Ontario" solar systems. Under the feed-in-tarriff system, electricity utilities are obliged to buy renewable energy from eligible participants.
Canadian Solar's manufacturing facility is expected to help drive Ontario's emerging solar industry, which is growing rapidly as a result of the provincial government's recently launched FIT program.
"Our new facility will help expand "green" skilled jobs and investment in Ontario as well as the rest of Canada," said Dr. Shawn Qu, Chairman and CEO of Canadian Solar.
The company will be exploring federal and provincial programs that can help it build an Ontario based manufacturing facility. "When considering Ontario for our next investment in manufacturing, we looked at the strength of R&D and the government's commitment to investing in a low-carbon economy. We are looking forward to working with government representatives in creating jobs and a viable solar market in Ontario and across Canada," said Milfred Hammerbacher, President of the subsidiary, Canadian Solar Solutions.
Canadian Solar designs complete, turnkey solution packages for the residential, commercial and solar farm markets in Ontario. The solutions enable the installations to take place rapidly, at a lower cost and at a higher level of quality and reliability.
