On October 8, the Spanish solar energy group of companies, Siliken Renewable Energies, announced plans to build a solar panel manufacturing facility in Windsor, Ontario. The new plant will create about 200 jobs for Ontario workers with solar energy training.

Over the past year, the Ontario solar market has benefited greatly from financial incentives created by the province’s feed-in tariff (FIT) program - an initiative that pays up to 80.2 cents/kW-hour for renewable energy fed into the power grid. The highest prices are reserved for rooftop solar installations, which have created increased demand for solar modules and related components. Domestic content requirements (DCRs) of the FIT have made green careers more lucrative for Ontarians since they stipulate that participating projects use at least 50% of labour and materials sourced from within Ontario.

Although the US, EU, and Japan decry such protectionist policies, the DCRs have done exactly what they were designed to do - encourage the manufacture, sale, and installation of sustainable energy solutions. This growth has also indirectly led to increased interest in the types of green training programs offered by ISPQ-accredited PV school, Ontario Solar Academy.

Siliken Brings Solar Jobs to Recession-ravaged City

Siliken Renewable Energies (“Siliken”) is comprised of Siliken Electronics, Siliken Chemicals, and Siliken Modules. Created in 2001, Siliken has evolved into a manufacturer of solar and wind energy generation modules, inverters, racking components, and chemicals used in the preparation of silicon wafers for solar panels. The companies’ manufacturing facilities cover an area of more than 40 square kilometres worldwide and help to create green jobs and long-term careers in clean energy generation across Spain, the US, and now, Canada as well.

The company opened its first sales office in Toronto in July of 2010, while construction of the new $7 million photovoltaic module plant is set to begin in February, 2011. A physical presence in Ontario will not only allow Siliken to meet the DCRs of the FIT, but it will also provide much-needed jobs in a city ravaged by the decline of the auto sector. An unnamed source told the Windsor Star that the new plant is “the first phase in a larger investment” in the Ontario market, and that “It will be one of the largest solar module manufacturing plants in North America.”