As part of an official initiative to attract clean energy companies to the province of Ontario in Canada, Samsung and SMA Solar Technology have entered a partnership to build industrial-size solar inverters at Celestica’s facilities in Toronto.
Inverters are electric devices that convert energy produced in solar panels into power that can be used by the grid.
This is the third manufacturing deal under a $7 billion investment by Samsung in Ontario. Previously, Samsung had teamed up with Siemens Canada, Pattern Energy and CS Wind to run a new wind turbine plant in the Tillsonburg area and a wind tower plant in Windsor.
In order to supply Samsung, SMA Solar Technology will launch its first Canadian-based production of industrial solar inverters. The company already uses Ontario as a base to make residential inverters for smaller solar projects.
“Ontario is a world leader in attracting clean energy investments as we transform and modernize our electricity system. We are making crucial investments to build a strong, reliable system that will clean up the air we breathe for our families, businesses and the generations to come. We are doing it while helping keep costs down for families,” said Brad Duguid, Ontario’s Minister of Energy.
The overall objective of the region’s 2009 Green Energy Act is to replace coal with renewable energy such as wind, solar and bio-energy while promoting the creation of green collar jobs. And the initiative is already yielding results. By the end of 2010, the Green Energy Act had helped to create 13,000 jobs and attracted billions in private-sector investment. Recently the region became home to the world’s largest solar photovoltaic farm in Sarnia. The province hopes to be generating 10,700 megawatts of clean energy as part of the Long-Term Energy Plan.
“Ontario is a major solar power market for SMA and we are pleased to reach this milestone agreement with Samsung. Ontario’s Green Energy Act and the Feed-In Tariff program have created a welcoming business climate for manufacturers looking to expand their market reach,” said Günther Cramer, SMA Solar Technology’s CEO.
Article by Antonio Pasolini, a Brazilian writer and video art curator based in London, UK. He holds a BA in journalism and an MA in film and television.
