Samsung Renewable Energy Inc. (Samsung) announced today that it has reached a partnership agreement with Canadian Solar Inc. (Canadian Solar) to open a new manufacturing facility in London, Ontario. This plant will 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.
The facility will produce solar PV Modules and Medium Voltage Power Stations. This plant will supply Samsung's Ontario solar projects, such as the 100 megawatt (MW) Grand Renewable Energy Park in Haldimand County, the 100 MW Sol-Luce Kingston Solar PV project in Kingston and Loyalist Township, and future solar projects within the GEIA. The new facility will also be a hub for Canadian Solar to conduct research and product development associated with solar energy generation.
The Canadian Solar plant also ensures Samsung can move forward with engineering, procurement and construction jobs in its project communities around Ontario. In total, Samsung's GEIA project will create 9,000 renewable energy jobs across the province.
"Samsung believes that renewable energy is a very important part of eliminating our dependence on dirty coal production and protecting the air that we breathe," says Ki-Jung Kim, Executive Vice President of Samsung C&T. "We are very pleased to create 200 green jobs in London and 9,000 total jobs in communities across Ontario that have been hit hard by the global recession."
"We are proud to be partnering with Samsung Renewable Energy to expand the use of solar energy while at the same time creating green manufacturing jobs in Canada," said Dr. Shawn Qu, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Canadian Solar. "This latest transaction highlights our rapidly growing downstream solar power solutions business, as we develop manufacturing capabilities for Balance of Plant equipment, such as Medium Voltage Stations, while also conducting research in project solutions areas to reduce total project cost and improve performance. We are leveraging the scale afforded by our global leadership position, our experience and extensive resources to ultimately benefit Ontario economically through significant job creation and to provide a much needed sustainable, renewable source of energy."
Samsung and its partners will develop 300 MW of clean, renewable solar power in Ontario, part of a commitment to invest $5-billion in the development of 1,369 MW of renewable energy.
Canadian Solar becomes Samsung's fourth renewable energy manufacturing partner in Ontario, joining Siemens in Tillsonburg, CS Wind in Windsor, and SMA in Toronto. Together, the four manufacturing facilities will employ 900 manufacturing workers. Samsung will support all of its manufacturing partners' efforts to develop export markets beyond the GEIA project.
In addition to the recently announced 100 MW AC Grand Renewable Energy Park in Haldimand County which is expected to start construction in August, the London manufacturing facility will supply modules to two Solar PV projects in Kingston and Loyalist Township totaling approximately 100MW AC each. These two solar projects are expected to start construction in 2014 following the renewable energy approval process. In total, the three solar power projects represent 300MW AC, equivalent to approximately 400 MW DC.
Information about employment opportunities and how to apply will be shared as the partners work towards the facility opening over the coming months.