The London community celebrated the start of over 200 local renewable energy jobs at the grand opening of the Canadian Solar manufacturing facility on 6th March. This is the fourth manufacturing facility to be created by Samsung Renewable Energy Inc. (Samsung) under the Green Energy Investment Agreement (GEIA) with the Government of Ontario.
The Canadian Solar plant, located at 1400 Global Drive, began operations in November, 2013. The plant produces solar PV modules and medium voltage power stations to supply Samsung's Ontario solar projects, including the 100 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 is also a hub for solar energy research and product development.
Not only does this facility fulfill Samsung's GEIA commitment to create hundreds of manufacturing jobs at four plants, it also enables Samsung to create thousands of engineering, procurement and construction jobs at its solar projects in communities around Ontario. In total, Samsung's GEIA projects will create 9,000 renewable energy jobs across the province.
Samsung and its partners are investing $5 billion in Ontario to create the largest cluster of solar and wind power anywhere on the planet. Under the GEIA, Samsung will develop 300 MW of solar power in Ontario, part of a total of 1,369 MW of clean, renewable energy that will contribute to Ontario's initiative to phase-out coal-fired generation by the end of 2014.
The Canadian Solar plant joins Samsung's Ontario manufacturing partners Siemens in Tillsonburg, CS Wind in Windsor, and SMA in Toronto. Together, the four manufacturing facilities now employ over 1000 Ontario manufacturing workers. Samsung will support all of its manufacturing partners' efforts to develop export markets beyond the GEIA project.
"Samsung is delivering on our commitments to the people of London and throughout Ontario. As a globally responsible company, we are proud to develop clean energy that is protecting the air that we breathe. We are equally proud to contribute to the local economies in our project and manufacturing communities."
–Ki-Jung Kim, Senior Vice President, Samsung C&T
"Samsung's commitment to develop clean energy is aligned with our goal of contributing to the growth of solar powered energy in Canada. The London manufacturing facility will produce modules and medium voltage power stations to support the build out of Samsung's solar project pipeline and create green jobs in the Province of Ontario market, while at the same time consolidating our position as the leading provider of solar energy solutions in Canada."
–Dr. Shawn Qu, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Canadian Solar Inc.
Ontario's landmark green energy initiatives are all about our future. I'm proud of our renewable energy sector and the robust industry we've created and I'm confident that our clean energy investments will continue to be a source of jobs for Ontarians for years to come."
–Bob Chiarelli, Minister of Energy
"On behalf of my colleagues in the federal government, I congratulate Canadian Solar and Samsung on the opening of this facility today. Our government knows that we must continue to work hard to make southern Ontario a great place to invest and do business. The benefits of this are clear: jobs for our people, growth for our businesses and success for our region as well as Canada as a whole."
–Gary Goodyear, Minister of State (Federal Economic Development Agency for southern Ontario)
"I'm delighted that Canadian Solar chose to open here in London, creating new manufacturing, research and development jobs. This is great news for London and will help boost our local economy, and also continues our government's commitment to building cleaner energy in Ontario."
–Deb Matthews MPP, London North Center