Canadian Solar Inc. is beginning the site selection and approvals process to establish a 200 MW module manufacturing facility in Ontario. The company expects to make definite decisions about the plant site, cost and ultimate size in the first quarter of 2010.

The facility is expected to result in 500 direct manufacturing jobs in
Ontario and have sufficient capacity to supply electricity to 60,000
homes per year. The estimated cost of the plant will be C$24 million,
and the company notes that it will be one of the largest solar panel
manufacturing facilities in North America.

Ontario’s solar industry is growing rapidly, says the release, as a
result of the provincial government’s recently launched feed-in-tariff
(FIT) program.  Canadian Solar has recently submitted a number of FIT
applications to Ontario Power Authority and has also received
considerable customer interest for Made in Ontario solar systems.
 
“Our new facility will help expand ‘green’ skilled jobs and investment
in Ontario as well as the rest of Canada,” said Dr. Shawn Qu, chairman
and CEO of Canadian Solar Inc. “Additionally, with this facility, our
leading-edge photovoltaic technology will be manufactured and readily
available in Ontario for those who are ready to take advantage of the
FIT programs.”

Canadian Solar designs turnkey solution packages for the residential,
commercial and solar farm markets in Ontario. Its panels are
silicon-based, have a 25-year warranty, and the company says they have
been installed and tested amid extreme weather conditions around the
world with outstanding results in terms of performance, resistance and
reliability.