AUTOGRAPHS

SkyPower And Canadian Solar Sign New Deal

InfoGrok Energy, a leading energy industry news and energy market research website is reporting that Canadian Solar Solutions and SkyPower, a developer of solar energy projects, have signed an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) agreement.

As part of the new agreement, Canadian Solar Solutions will commission two solar parks with a nameplate capacity of 18.5Mw in Ontario, Canada. SkyPower recently closed financing on these projects with Deutsche Bank.

The agreement will result in the creation of numerous new green energy jobs and will further accelerate Canadian Solar’s EPC turn-key business in Ontario. The 1st project is a 10.5Mw solar park in Napanee, home to First Light I, SkyPower’s first solar project and Canada’s first fully operational solar park. The second project is an 8.5Mw solar park located in Thunder Bay, Ontario.

Both projects is expected to be conmpleted by the middle of next year (2011). Together, they are expected to generate about 19 million KWh in their first full year of operation and almost 400 million kWh over the next 20 years.

The energy news website goes on to state that this is equivalent to producing enough electricity to power almost 33,000 homes and a CO2 offset of removing almost 60,000 cars off the road over the initial 20 years of the project. SkyPower’s projects will be composed of 47, 710 CS6P high efficiency polycrystalline modules and 36, 972 CS6P high efficiency monocrystalline.

Shawn Qu, the current CEO and President of Canadian Solar, said, “A new study issued by the Canadian Solar Industry Association and prepared by consultants Ernst & Young, reports the cost of solar power projects will be cut by more than 50 percent before 2025, making the solar electricity competitive with electricity generated by oil & gas, hydroelectroc or nuclear plants.

“The report illustrates that solar power is already price-competitive with other sources at peak times. Agreements like this one announced here today with SkyPower are very important. By partnering and also working closely together with the political leaders and other stakeholders in the province, we can help make the predictions in the study a reality.”

Kerry Adler, president and CEO of SkyPower, said: “This agreement with Canadian Solar is an important milestone for both our companies and a direct result of the Province of Ontario’s efforts to create a world-leading market for renewable power.”

Shawn Green Tribute