Northland Power Inc. announced that the Ontario Power Authority (OPA) has now confirmed that four of six projects in the first phase of Northland’s 130-MW ground-mounted solar program achieved commercial operations on June 21st, 2013. The facilities, located in eastern Ontario in the municipalities of Crosby, Rideau Lakes and Belleville, will provide 40 MW of power to the Ontario grid under a 20 year power purchase agreement with the OPA’s Feed-In Tariff (FIT) Program.
The projects entered construction in 2012, and were built by Miwel Construction Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Aecon Group Inc., using Ontario-made equipment and Ontario labour. Photovoltaic modules were assembled in Ontario under contract with MEMC Singapore Pte. Ltd. The inverters (power conversion units) were supplied by SMA Canada Inc. and were also manufactured in Ontario. Approximately 2,000 Ontario workers supported the manufacturing, construction and related services associated with the first phase of the Northland projects.
The commissioning of these facilities is particularly noteworthy because they are the first of the corporation’s ground-mounted solar farms to enter operations. Today’s announcement demonstrates Northland’s ongoing commitment to building and maintaining a diverse portfolio of assets across the spectrum of ‘green’ (renewable) and ‘clean’ (natural gas) technologies.
“We look forward to helping meet Ontario’s long-term energy needs, using clean, renewable solar power,” said John Brace, CEO of Northland. “These facilities are in line with Northland’s focus on delivering intelligent energy to consumers while helping to create a greener future for our planet. I would like to thank our host communities, and all levels of government in Ontario for their efforts to bring these projects to fruition. I would also like to thank Miwel and the Northland team for all of their hard work.”
— Solar Builder magazine
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