New Mexico’s Unirac, Inc. (Unirac) and Kitchener-based Canadian Solar Solutions, Inc. (Canadian Solar Solutions) have recently announced that they will jointly offer a complete solar package to their customers that combines Canadian Solar Solutions’ photovoltaic (PV) panels with Unirac’s racking systems. The agreement covers 30 MW worth of Canadian Solar Solutions’ systems and will benefit owners of solar projects in Ontario, where in order to receive government green energy incentives, they have to certify that their projects contain materials made in the province.
Ontario’s solar projects received a big boost in 2009 when the provincial government began to offer its feed-in tariff (FIT) program. The program creates green energy, career options, and demand for new educational streams like PV certification by offering producers of renewable energy from solar, wind, and biomass installations high prices to tie their projects into the grid. Owners of participating solar projects must certify that their installations are comprised of at least 60% domestic content and use Ontario labourers. This provision ensures that the money and career opportunities the FIT creates benefit the province directly and over the long term.
Companies Offer Needed Supplies for Project Owners and Certified PV Installers
Canadian Solar Solutions, and its parent company, Canadian Solar, Inc. (Canadian Solar), provide turnkey solar solutions for residential, commercial, and solar farm markets in Canada, the US, Europe, and Asia. Their participation in the Ontario market enables project owners to certify that their installations meet the FIT’s domestic content requirements.
Unirac is an Albuquerque-based provider of PV mounting systems. Their previous work included solar energy installations at Universal Studios and Google Campus. By partnering with Canadian Solar Solutions, Unirac gets a leg up in Ontario’s exclusive market. “We are excited about working closely with a strong partner like Canadian Solar Solutions to address the rapidly growing Ontario market for solar energy,” says the company’s CEO, Doug May.
Canadian Solar Solutions and Unirac’s new partnership joins a number of solar matches made in Ontario that provide domestic content for projects in the region, as well as for its certified solar energy workers who have helped it to attain the second highest installed PV capacity in North America.
