Construction starts on North America’s largest PV facility
STONE MILLS, ONTARIO, CA, US. Construction has started on the largest solar PV energy park in North America.
The 19 MW First Light facility will cover 300 acres in eastern Ontario when it is completed later next year. The output of green power will be sufficient to power 2,000 homes.
SkyPower and SunEdison Canada claim the two-phase facility will reduce carbon emissions by 20,6651 metric tonnes of carbon emissions each year if emitted from gas- and coal-fired plants. The joint venture will be subsidised by the provincial government and Ontario Power Authority, which offers a Standard Offer Program which provides US$0.42 per kWh of output from solar PV for 20 years.
“This is an important day for solar energy but an even more significant moment for Ontario,” says Kerry Adler of SkyPower. “Our continued commitment to solar energy is clear and our desire to make a difference for the generations to come is the motivation behind the tireless efforts and substantial investments we have made and continue to make in Ontario and other forward thinking jurisdictions in the world.”
A total of 200,000 standard flat panels will cover 150 acres of the land, sited between Toronto and Ottawa. The project will result in job and tourism development opportunities for local municipalities, and supply solar power to the provincial grid that will help Ontario reach its renewable energy targets for 2025, the developers note.
“First Light is possible because of a real commitment by the community and the leadership of Ontario to deliver clean renewable energy,” adds Tom Rainwater of SunEdison. “The success of our joint venture is evidenced today with the groundbreaking of First Light and the key to making this happen has been working hand-in-hand with the local community that will be home to these clean power plants.”
Since the Renewable Energy Standard Offer Program was launched in 2006, it has already exceeded its ten-year target of 1,000 MW of contracted generation, says energy minister Gerry Phillips.
Already common in Europe, solar PV farms have recently experienced broader adoption in North America as a needed and valuable alternative energy source. Canada, and Ontario in particular, is a strong market because it has a better solar resource than countries such as Germany and Japan, the developers note.
“The issue of climate change is arguably one of the most important challenges we are facing, so it's inspiring to see such a wide range of constituencies - government, business, investors, and citizens - come together to build a mutually beneficial solution,” adds Theodore Roosevelt of Lehman Brothers, which owns Skypower. “Through innovation, creativity and hard work, SkyPower, SunEdison and the Province of Ontario are 'making dirt fly' and, most important, putting assets in the ground to help mitigate climate change.”
SkyPower is a renewable energy developer with interests in 100 wind and solar projects at various stages of development, representing 8,000 MW of capacity. It also has wind energy under development in India and hydro projects under development in Panama.
SunEdison Canada is a subsidiary of Sun Edison, which claims to be North America’s largest solar energy services provider. Under its Solar Power Services Agreement turn-key service model, SunEdison finances, installs, owns and operates photovoltaic power plants for utilities, government agencies and commercial enterprises from its headquarters in Maryland.
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