Canadian Solar, the Guelph-based solar power company, announced that it would supply photovoltaic modules totaling 91 megawatts to Soleq Solar of Thailand. This is enough electricity to power approximately 100,000 homes. The pv modules will be used to power generating plants in Thailand. The Canadian Solar modules will be CS6X high output modules, according to a company statement.
In commenting on the deal, Dr. Shawn Qu, chairman and CEO of Canadian Solar said that the deal was in line with the company’s policy to “reduce our exposure to European markets.” It is also evidence of the company’s success in expanding its global footprint, he said.
Canadian Solar will also partner with Samsung Renewable Energy in opening a manufacturing facility in London, Ontario, it was announced last week. The plant, which will employ approximately 200 workers in London, will be operated as part of the province’s Green Energy Investment Agreement (GEIA), an agreement between Samsung and Ontario. The plant will produce pv modules and medium voltage power stations for solar projects built by Samsung under the terms of GEIA. These will include a 100 MW energy park in Haldimand County and a 100 MW solar project in Kingston.
Samsung has already partnered with Siemens, CS Wind and SMA, to create 900 manufacturing jobs in total as part of the GEIA project.
The original $9.7 billion agreement between the province and Samsung was recently cut to $6 billion, a result of changing energy needs and economic conditions, according to the government. The $6 billion represents the amount of electricity that the province will buy from Samsung wind and solar installations over the next twenty years. The amount of electricity to be purchased, originally set at 2,500 MW, is now reduced to 1,369 MW. The amount of Samsung’s investment, originally to be $7 billion, is reduced correspondingly to $5 billion under the new terms of the agreement.
