On June 25th, Waterloo’s ARISE Technologies Corporation announced that it will partner up with the Canadian division of Beijing-based Sky Solar to provide engineering and other services within Ontario’s solar industry. ARISE’s Systems Division has offered solar solutions in Canada since 1996, and the company began manufacturing high efficiency PV cells at its German plant in 2008. Chief Executive, Vern Heinrichs, made the announcement at a meeting held at the University of Waterloo. Together as Sky Solar Engineering, the companies will use their combined expertise to help Canadian solar projects with engineering, contracting, and procurement of materials and labour.
Solar Panels and Parts to be Sourced In-Province
The joint venture will mean jobs for out-of-work Ontarians as solar projects are included under the province’s feed-in-tariff (FIT) program and its domestic sourcing requirements. The Ontario Green Energy Act’s program allows producers of green energy to feed directly into the grid under a twenty-year contract that offers above-market prices. The highest prices, up to 80.2 cents per kilowatt hour, are given to projects using solar panels. In return, FIT participants must source a certain percentage of material and labour from within Ontario. The program is designed to create jobs and give a boost to Ontario’s emerging solar, wind, and biofuel industries.
Ontario Solar Industry to Benefit from Experience
ARISE brings to the project its Systems Division’s years of experience working to improve the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of solar cells, as well as a broad network both in Europe and at home. While Sky Solar does not manufacture photovoltaic equipment, it has organized a number of large-scale solar projects. According to Heinrichs, Sky Solar will offer “buying power (and) an international reputation.”
Sky Solar Engineering will focus on Ontario at first, but intends to eventually offer its services across North America. With the help of Ontario’s skilled work force, ARISE and Sky Solar’s partnership will help rejuvenate the province’s aging energy grid and give the Canadian solar market a competitive edge in an uncertain economy. Sky Solar Engineering is just one of many projects taking advantage of Ontario’s FIT program.
