Posts Tagged ‘job development’

Owen Sound to Consider Joining Green Economy

Friday, January 7th, 2011

City Council in Owen Sound, Ontario, will soon decide whether the municipality will join the province’s green economy with a pair of ground-mounted solar installations on city-owned property.

Within the next few months, Owen Sound’s Environmental Superintendent, Chris Hughes, will present a plan to Council for two 10 kW installations that the city’s Environmental and Waste Advisory Committee expects to cost $171,000 before taxes.  The projects will generate revenue by participating in the Ontario Power Authority’s (OPA’s) lucrative microFIT program.  The committee reviewed proposals from nine different companies and selected Toronto’s Essex Energy Corporation (Essex Energy) to build photovoltaic systems at the Kiwanis Soccer Complex and at a public works facility in the city.  Essex Energy is a division of Essex Power Corporation (Essex Power) that specializes in renewable energy systems and distributed generation.

Ontario’s microFIT pays above-market rates, locked into twenty-year contracts, to owners of small-scale alternative energy-generating installations who tie their projects into the province’s power grid.  The program and its companion feed-in tariff (FIT) for larger projects create clean power as well as jobs for graduates of photovoltaic training classes.

Projects Would Create Alternative Energy, Jobs for Photovoltaic Class Graduates

“It’s environmentally responsible.  It’s cost-neutral to begin with and, ultimately, it will be a source of revenue for the city in the future,” says Councillor Bill Twaddle, Chairman of the advisory committee.  The projects, if approved, will also create jobs in the region, as the FIT and microFIT require participating developers to acquire up to 60% of materials and labour from within the province.

If City Council agrees to take on the projects, the two photovoltaic installations will represent Owen Sound’s first foray into alternative energy since the province began to offer financial incentives for clean electricity.  “This is kind of a small introduction into the whole thing,” says Councillor Twaddle.  The committee expects the solar installations to pay for themselves within ten years and generate income for the city for the remainder of the microFIT contracts.  Owen Sound’s entry into the solar market brings the region into step with many other municipalities that, with the help of the OPA and graduates of the province’s photovoltaic classes, do their part to take Ontario into a greener future.

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London Church Set to Switch on Solar Cross, Participate in MicroFIT

Thursday, January 6th, 2011

On Wednesday, January 6, Richards Memorial United Church (Richards Memorial), in London, Ontario will begin operating its new microFIT rooftop solar installation.  The project is the city’s first photovoltaic (PV) system on a church building.

“We’ve seen cars stop in the street and (drivers) roll down their windows to look up,” says the church’s pastor, Rev. Janet Fradette.  Her congregation chose to focus on the environment in 2010, and she says the twenty-year contract is a reminder that a commitment to sustainability must be long-term.

“It’s one of those projects that has appeal from whatever viewpoint you look at it,” says the Reverend.  The installation will create renewable energy, draw revenue, and provide work for Ontarians who have chosen to pursue green careers.  Its fifty panels, installed in the shape of a cross, will produce 14 MW-hours of solar power and prevent the release of 11 tonnes of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere each year.

Programs Create Renewable Energy, Careers for Workers with Solar Training

The church secured an $87,000 loan from the Middlesex Presbytery of the United Church of Canada to finance its PV project.  It expects to pay off the loan within eight years and then generate income by participating in Ontario’s microFIT program.  The program creates renewable energy and careers for graduates of “green” educational streams, like solar training courses, by paying high prices for electricity produced by grid-tied solar or wind projects under 10 kW of capacity.  The microFIT and its companion program for larger projects, simply referred to as the feed-in tariff (FIT), both lock prices into twenty-year contracts.

Richards Memorial expects the solar project to generate up to $216,000 over the course of its participation in the microFIT program.  The church hired Direct Current Renewable Energy (Direct Current) to install the cross-shaped solar array.  Direct Current is a Brantford-based company whose management brings to the table more than a decade and a half worth of training and experience in commercial and residential electrical systems.  The company had already installed one system on a church in Hamilton prior to constructing the London project.

The church chose the last day of Epiphany to hold its dedication ceremony for the new solar system.  The date, fittingly, commemorates the time when the Wise Men of the Bible followed the light in the sky in their search for Jesus.

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Company Awarded for Project That Creates Green Jobs, Clean Energy

Friday, December 31st, 2010

The Canadian Solar Industries Association (CanSIA) has awarded its Solar PV Project of the Year Award to Arizona’s First Solar, Inc. (First Solar), for its successful completion of the Canadian industry’s biggest solar energy installation, located in Sarnia, Ontario.

First Solar built the Sarnia installation and owns and operates it on behalf of Canada’s Enbridge, Inc., one of North America’s largest energy providers.  Both companies accepted the award at this year’s CanSIA conference in Toronto early in December, and First Solar’s VP of Business Development, Peter Carrie, was awarded Solar Leader of the Year for his own contribution to the country’s solar energy industry.

First Solar completed a landmark expansion to the Sarnia facility in October that brought its capacity to generate solar power from 20 to 80 MW and officially made it the largest solar installation in the country, and by some estimates, in the world.  First Solar’s renovations directly created green jobs for 800 workers and indirectly created countless others in design, engineering, and supply.  The installation uses 1.3 million thin film solar panels that the companies expect to create about 120,000 MW of electricity and displace more than 39,000 tons of carbon dioxide per year, or enough power to meet the needs of about 12,800 households.

Project, Province Benefit from Ontario’s Solar Trained Workers

Ontario benefits from a booming solar energy industry that includes manufacturing plants and training programs for solar installers.  Programs like Ontario Solar Academy’s five-day PV design and installation course, for example, help to train both new and seasoned workers for green jobs in the province’s solar economy.  Ontario currently enjoys the most community-owned energy production in North America, thanks in large part to its feed-in tariff program, which pays lucrative rates to producers of renewable energy who tie their projects into the electrical grid.

Projects like the Sarnia facility show what is possible when governments, communities, and corporations work towards common goals.  “Together with Enbridge,” says First Solar’s Senior VP of Project Development for North America, Frank De Rosa, “we are leading the development of utility-scale solar energy in Canada.”

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Canada’s Premier Solar Training School Launches Free Tuition Promotion

Thursday, December 23rd, 2010

ISPQ-accredited Ontario Solar Academy (OSA) recently announced a holiday contest in which one lucky individual will be able to attend OSA’s 5-Day Solar Photovoltaic (PV) Design & Installation Course absolutely free.  Prospective students need only send in a 500-word essay explaining why they should receive the training.  The two runners-up will each receive a 50% discount.

Normally priced at $2,995, OSA’s intensive solar training course equips students with the regulatory and technical expertise needed to safely install PV technology within Ontario’s rapidly expanding green economy.

OSA Director, Jacob Travis, comments, “Times are difficult right now with the recession and holidays.  We receive daily requests from enthusiastic candidates who, because of tight finances, cannot join our course.”  He adds, “Our Early Bird Discount and Price Match Offer have helped many students, but we designed this promotion for those needing additional assistance in securing solar career training.”

Like all OSA students, the contest winner will receive 5 days of intensive solar PV installation and design training from a NABCEP-certified instructor.  And like all OSA graduates, the winner will also receive automatic membership in Ontario Solar Network – a fast-growing non-profit association dedicated to advancing business development for its members in Ontario’s solar PV market.

Billed as a “Free Opportunity to Learn a Green Career,” the promotion applies to the Academy’s next 5-day training, scheduled from January 31 to February 4 in the GTA.  Interested candidates should call 416-900-7191 or email contest@solaracademy.ca for application info.  The application deadline is January 7, 2011.

Those wishing to register for Ontario Solar Academy’s standard 5-day PV courses should visit www.SolarAcademy.ca for more details.  Upcoming dates include Jan 31-Feb 4, Feb 21-Feb 25, and Feb 28-Mar 4.  Those who register 3 weeks in advance automatically receive a $350 discount.

About Ontario Solar Academy:

As Canada’s premier PV training school, ISPQ-accredited Ontario Solar Academy has trained over 225 graduates, using curricula based on NABCEP learning objectives designed to quickly advance expertise in solar design and installation.  Its 5-Day Solar PV Training focuses on what you need to know to succeed in Ontario’s FIT and microFIT program and includes hands-on workshops that prepare participants for NABCEP’s PV Entry Level Exam.

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New Utility Division to Encourage Renewable Energy and Create Jobs

Wednesday, December 22nd, 2010

Brant County Power, Inc. (Brant Power), has created a new division called Brant Renewable Energy (Brant Renewable) to help the communities it serves take advantage of the benefits of Ontario’s feed-in tariff (FIT) and microFIT programs.  The new division will create clean air and renewable energy jobs in the towns of Burford, Paris, and St. George, and the City of Brantford.

Brant Power’s new division will bring the utility and the municipalities into the fold of Ontario’s Green Energy Hub, a coalition of communities dedicated to creating strategies to increase their capacity for solar, wind, and other forms of green power generation.

According to the utility’s CEO, Bruce Noble, Brant Renewable will initially focus on photovoltaic (PV) power.  Ontario is well-equipped for solar, as it is home to a number of manufacturers that serve the industry, such as Heliene, Inc. in Sault Saint Marie and Toronto’s Ontario Solar Academy – Canada’s first ISPQ-certified PV training program.

Solar Focus Will Require Trained and Certified PV Workers

According to Ruth Cooper, who consults for the new division, “Brant Renewable Energy will educate, advocate, and facilitate power from renewable sources.”  One thing Brant Renewable will “facilitate” is county citizens’ participation in the FIT, which pays high prices to producers of renewable energy who tie into the power grid, and the microFIT, which offers the same for projects of 10 kW and less.  The programs contain domestic content requirements that stipulate what percentage of labour and materials a project owner must source from within the province in order to be eligible.  These requirements add to the power of the FIT and microFIT by creating jobs in manufacturing and new career opportunities for graduates of solar PV and other renewable energy training and certification programs.  Brant Renewable will require workers in both of these sectors in order to meet its green goals.

“Changing ourselves to a green culture should allow us to be more healthy,” says Noble, who adds, “By driving conservation, it allows people to reduce costs.”  Together, Brant Renewables, the Green Energy Hub, and the FIT and microFIT programs will move the province into the future of energy production by removing pollution from the air and putting money into Ontarians’ pockets.

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New Sault Plant Produces FIT-Ready Materials

Monday, December 20th, 2010

On December 17, Heliene, Inc. (Heliene), held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for a new solar panel manufacturing plant in Sault Saint Marie (the Sault) that will provide much-needed domestic content for projects that take part in Ontario’s feed-in tariff (FIT) program.  The company expects the facility to produce 20 MW worth of panels per year and create fifty-seven alternative energy jobs by the end of December.

Heliene began production at the new plant in mid-October, and by the day of the ribbon-cutting, company President, Martin Pochtaruk, said it would soon increase production to twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.  Ontario enjoys high demand for alternative energy parts produced in the region since the province’s FIT program will require participating projects to use up to 60% domestic materials and labour by 2011.  The program creates green energy, jobs, and manufacturing opportunities like the Heliene plant by paying high prices to producers of solar, wind, and biomass power who tie their projects into the grid.  The program has also helped to open up new educational opportunities such as Ontario Solar Academy’s photovoltaic (PV) design and installation classes.

Solar Facility to Create Alternative Energy Jobs, Parts for PV Class Graduates

Heliene is a Sault-based producer of solar panels that has a sibling company of the same name in Badalona, Spain.  By the end of the month, the new plant will have four crews, each working twelve-hour shifts to keep up with demand for its solar panels, all of which Heliene expects to sell soon to the rapidly-expanding Ontario market.  Heliene will produce its maximum-yield 300-watt panels on a mostly-automated assembly line made by Spain’s SAP Sistemas de Automatizacion de Procesos (SAP).  The high-efficiency panels are capable of generating PV power under sun and cloud and can connect to as many other panels as necessary for home, commercial, or full-scale use.  This will provide the versatility that graduates of the province’s PV classes will need in order to deal with Ontario’s widely variable climate.

“By supporting Heliene, Inc., a value-added manufacturing businesses in the green energy sector,” says Ontario MPP for the Sault region, David Orazietti, “we are creating high quality, good paying jobs and positioning our city to be at the forefront of the growing renewable energy industry.”

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Greater Sudbury to Take Part in Feed-in Tariff Program

Saturday, December 18th, 2010

SkyPower, Ltd. (SkyPower), has announced plans for a new solar park in the Greater Sudbury area that will tie into the provincial power grid as part of Ontario’s feed-in tariff program.  The company will locate the $35-$45 million park, which it has named the HighLight Solar Project (Highlight Project), south of the town of Capreol in the Valley East region.

Toronto’s SkyPower is a solar energy company that develops, manages, finances, and owns renewable power projects across the globe.  Members of the company’s experienced team dedicate their careers to developing green projects “in a responsible and meaningful manner.”  SkyPower’s other Ontario projects include Canada’s first full-scale solar park, First Light I, in Stone Mills, and two recently announced installations in Napanee and Thunder Bay.

“The site… has a good amount of sunlight, according to our consultants,” says SkyPower’s spokesman, Brett James.  “A good site is not impeded by winter conditions.”  The new Valley East installation will utilize as many as 200,000 solar panels.  The project’s construction will create eighty jobs for trades workers and graduates of the province’s PV training courses, and it will generate enough solar energy to power approximately 1,000 homes.  SkyPower expects to begin constructing the solar power project in August, 2011, and complete it within six to eight months.

Project Will Create Green Jobs for Graduates of Solar Power Courses

Ontario has a robust green energy industry that includes solar module manufacturing plants and a number of related career opportunities.  The province also benefits from training courses, such as Ontario Solar Academy’s five-day PV design and installation program, that prepare Ontario workers for new careers in the solar energy industry.

The centrepiece of Ontario’s green economy is its feed-in tariff program, which pays high prices to power producers who tie solar, wind, and biomass projects into the province’s electrical grid.  SkyPower has applied to the provincial government to participate in the program.  From there, it must also receive approval from the Ministries of the Environment, Tourism and Culture, and Natural Resources before it can commence building the HighLight Project.

The energy the project creates will divert about 10,000 tonnes of CO2 from the atmosphere by replacing an equivalent amount of fossil fuels.  Once the solar modules have reached the end of their lives – about twenty-five years – the company will remove the structures and leave the land to nature.

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Recycling Company Goes Solar

Monday, December 13th, 2010

Waxman Industrial Services, Ltd. (Waxman), recently announced that it will host an 87,000 square foot photovoltaic (PV) installation on its Burlington, Ontario rooftop.  Installing solar panels on the building’s roof will create work for graduates of Ontario’s green energy training courses.  When complete, the installation will produce an estimated 500 kW of environmentally-friendly electricity per hour.

Waxman is Canada’s fastest-growing metals recycling company, with operations in Hamilton, Brantford, and Burlington.  Toronto’s Atlantic Wind and Solar, Inc. (Atlantic) will construct, own, and operate the new rooftop facility.  Atlantic is a commercial aggregator – a company that leases space for installations that generate energy to sell at a profit.  The agreement between Waxman and Atlantic was brokered by Cushman & Wakefield, Ltd., a global real estate firm with offices across Canada and on most continents.

Atlantic operates a number of projects that participate in Ontario’s lucrative feed-in tariff (FIT) program.  The FIT encourages investment into green energy by paying owners of solar, wind, and biomass power projects above-market rates for electricity they feed into the grid.  The microFIT offers even higher prices, depending on the type of installation, for projects of 10 kW and less.  Last summer, the Ontario Power Authority (OPA) barred commercial aggregators from participating in the microFIT.

FIT, MicroFIT Create Alternative Energy, Jobs

A number of businesses, including IKEA, have chosen to produce alternative energy on their Ontario properties and rooftops, largely motivated by the FIT’s high prices.  This increased interest in green energy has led to a dramatic increase in the number of solar, wind, and biomass projects that operate in the province and has helped to create thousands of jobs.  According to one estimate, Ontario will install about 2400 MW of clean electricity-generating capacity between 2010 and 2012, and a recent study conducted by ClearSky Advisors suggests that the region may add as many as 70,000 “person-years” of employment in the green energy sector by 2015.  The FIT, microFIT, and the popularity of solar panels  and other types of installations have also inspired industry players to offer courses for workers interested in making the switch to careers in renewable energy, such as Ontario Solar Academy’s five-day solar panel installation course.

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College Graduates Learning the Importance of Green Jobs

Monday, November 29th, 2010

Ontario’s colleges are helping to shift the Ontario economy by training graduates for future careers in renewable energy.  Colleges Ontario released a report stating that thirty-five new programs have been introduced throughout the province over the past three years, all of which were designed to help train employees for the growing green job industry.

Linda Franklin, President and CEO of Colleges Ontario, states, “College graduates will be instrumental in supporting the rapid introduction and expansion of green technologies.”  Fanshawe College President, Howard Rundle, noted “With traditional manufacturing making way for new green industries and opportunities, the jobs of the future require a new skill set.”  He continued, “Working closely with industry partners, colleges such as Fanshawe are positioned to provide the training and applied learning essential to support the green economy.”

Ontario Colleges Increasingly Passionate about Green Job Development

A green roof installed at Fanshawe College, a $1.1 million smart house constructed at Lambton College in Sarnia, and the Centre for Alternative Waste Water Treatment at Fleming College in Peterborough are just three examples of the green energy initiatives that Ontario’s colleges are undertaking.  Whether it is in water management or in solar energy jobs, these programs showcase the diversity of green career programs that colleges are investing in, the skills they provide to graduates, and their passion for making Ontario’s economy cleaner and greener. 

Solar Energy As Major Component of Green Job Development

Although Ontario’s Green Energy Act has helped spark a surge in innovation, manufacturing, and development across numerous renewable technologies, few areas have benefited as much as solar has.  Scalable, flexible, and heavily subsidized, solar energy has generated tremendous interest, not only for businesses and homes, but also for First Nation communities, school districts, and government agencies.

To meet this demand requires training a solar workforce capable of installing the technology and infrastructure when and as it is needed.  Training such a workforce is the primary goal of Ontario Solar Academy – Canada’s only ISPQ-accredited PV school.  Comments Director, Jacob Travis, “The green industry is vast, and we support all competing renewable energy technologies that can help make Ontario a cleaner and more sustainable economy.”  He adds, “However, solar still remains the most accessible to small businesses and homeowners.  You can install PV technology on your lawn, empty parking lot, or roof – the success of Ontario’s green push is closely linked to the province’s solar progress.”

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