An experienced Italian solar PV company has set up its first Canadian subsidiary in Ontario and is gearing up to train its first seventy workers at a new plant in Mississauga. Silflab Ontario, Inc. will benefit from the thirty years’ experience of its parent company, Silflab Spa, as it manufacturers high-efficiency silicone solar modules that meet the requirements of the province’s feed-in tariff (FIT) program.
The FIT program is designed to aid the phase-out of coal-fired power plants and bring investment into the province, like the $15 million Silflab has already pledged for the first phase of its upcoming project. The FIT program has created a whole solar market in Ontario, from schools and academies providing solar classes to solar panel installation companies to production lines. All of this amounts to many megawatts of clean electricity, green jobs, and investment in an economy hit hard by the recent recession and general decline in manufacturing.
The first phase of the Mississauga plant involves bringing solar PV manufacturing capacity up to 60 MW, with the ultimate goal of 180 MW within the next year or two. The workers that the company has begun to train are the first of what it predicts will eventually increase to a workforce of 200.
Foreign Solar Company Benefits from Domestic Labour, Training Classes
Silflab’s solar modules have received Canadian Standards Association certification and are designed to withstand harsh Canadian winter conditions. In addition to the solar module facility, Silflab Ontario is licensed to produce and distribute Silflab’s tracking systems in North America. These systems greatly increase the efficiency of solar panel installations by tracking the sun’s movement throughout the day, which is of particular value in northern climates.
Silflab’s entry into the Ontario solar market is well-timed, as the FIT has picked up momentum and smoothed out some of its initial logistical wrinkles. The program continues to inspire a growing market in the province, and with it, foreign investment in manufacturing. As the company works to meet the FIT’s domestic content requirements, which include targets of up to 50% for in-province labour, solar classes and certification will become increasingly important to ensure the proper and timely installation of its products. According to Silfab President and CEO of Silfab Ontario, Franco Traverso, “this is an invaluable opportunity to export our consolidated photovoltaic experience and know-how in a market that has just begun to unfold.”
Aided by the efforts of businesses like Silflab Spa, Ontario’s FIT helps to increase the province’s presence in the world’s renewable energy market.
