Canadian Solar Begins Construction of 100 MW facility
Canadian Solar has announced that its subsidiary, Canadian Solar Solutions Inc., has begun construction of the 100 MWac Grand Renewable Solar Project utility-scale solar farm. The Grand Renewable Solar Project is Canada's largest PV project, and is being financed by Connor Clark & Lunn Infrastructure and developed by Samsung Renewable Energy.
Under the previously announced agreement, the solar power plant is expected to be fully operational in 2015. This agreement is expected to generate revenue of approximately C$310 million (USD$301.1 million) for Canadian Solar, including Engineering, Procurement and Construction ("EPC") services, which were awarded to Canadian Solar by Grand Renewable Solar LP ("GRS") in June 2013.
The 100 MWac utility-scale solar power plant, which is located in the Haldimand County, will include approximately 440,000 Canadian Solar CS6X high performance modules. The PV modules and Medium Voltage Power Stations will be manufactured in the partnership's new London, Ontario, Canada facility, which will also supply other Samsung solar projects in Ontario. The facility alone is expected to bring 200 local manufacturing jobs to London by the end of 2013, as promised in the Green Energy Investment Agreement (GEIA) between Samsung and the Government of Ontario. In total, Samsung's GEIA project is expected to create 9,000 renewable energy jobs across the province.
"Samsung is thankful to become part of this supportive community in Haldimand and proud of this historic partnership with Six Nations," said Mr. KJ. Kim, Executive Vice President, Samsung C&T. "The Grand Renewable Solar Project will create hundreds of high-skilled jobs that will benefit real people in this community."
"We thank Samsung and Connor Clark & Lunn Infrastructure, as we enthusiastically move to the construction phase of this landmark project. When completed, this will be Canada's largest PV project ever built. We are highly confident in our team's ability to complete this large-scale project on schedule and on budget, while creating new employment opportunities and achieving the optimum power efficiency generation target levels anticipated to be delivered by the project," commented Dr. Shawn Qu, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Canadian Solar Inc.
"We are pleased to have Canadian Solar as our construction partner and panel supplier on this groundbreaking project," said Matt O'Brien, president of Connor Clark & Lunn Infrastructure. "As the largest manufacturer of solar panels in Ontario and among the leading integrated solar companies in the world, Canadian Solar is uniquely positioned to deliver on this unique construction project."
