Enbridge Inc. and First Solar Inc. have officially begun operations at the 80-megawatt Sarnia solar project in southwestern Ontario, Canada, making it the largest operating photovoltaic plant in the world.
The 950-acre solar plant consists of 1.3 million thin-film First Solar panels and is expected to generate 120,000 megawatt-hours of power per year – enough to meet the energy needs of 12,800 households and offset more than 39,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide annually.
The project generated about 800 jobs during the construction phase and brought indirect benefits to local business such as engineering and design firms, construction subcontractors, suppliers and service providers.
The Ontario Power Authority will purchase power generated by the Sarnia solar facility under a 20-year power purchase agreement established under the terms of the Ontario government’s renewable energy standard offer program.
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“Completing the world’s largest photovoltaic power plant demonstrates the migration of solar PV toward utility scale,” said Frank De Rosa, senior vice president of the North American project development division of First Solar (Nasdaq:
FSLR
).
“With this project, we expect to install 145 MW this year in North America,” he added.
The Sarnia solar facility is part of Enbridge’s growing green energy portfolio, which includes interests in seven wind farms, four waste heat recovery facilities, a geothermal project and the commercial application of integrated energy recovery and fuel cell technology.
The company’s portfolio has a total generating capacity of 850 MW, which can supply 292,000 homes with clean energy.
“Over the last year, we added four new projects totalling $1.5 billion, increasing our total green energy investment to $2 billion and establishing a solid platform for attractive and sustainable long-term growth with a risk-return profile consistent with our liquids pipelines and natural gas businesses,” said Al Monaco, executive vice president of major projects and green energy at Enbridge (TSX:
ENB
).
He further revealed the company aims to stabilize their environmental footprint at 2009 levels through a program that intends to generate a kilowatt of renewable energy for every kilowatt of power the company’s operations consume.
The solar project will help Ontario meet its target of 10 percent new renewable energy capacity by 2010, as well as double the contribution of renewable electricity to 15,700 MW by 2025.
“The Sarnia solar project is an example of the kinds of renewable energy projects that have been developed under the Government of Ontario’s Green Energy Act,” said Brad Duguid, Ontario’s minister of energy.
“Ontario can now boast the largest solar farm in North America –projects like these are making us a leader in renewable energy and helping us all move towards a cleaner energy future,” he added.
