Minister Tours Plant on First Anniversary of Its Entry into the Solar Industry

Ontario's Energy Minister, Brad Duguid, recently completed a tour of the SunRise Power Corporation (SunRise Power) facilities in Peterborough during the first anniversary of the company's entry into the province's solar industry. The city's MPP, Jeff Leal, accompanied the Minister on the tour of th

Ontario's Energy Minister, Brad Duguid, recently completed a tour of the SunRise Power Corporation (SunRise Power) facilities in Peterborough during the first anniversary of the company's entry into the province's solar industry. The city's MPP, Jeff Leal, accompanied the Minister on the tour of the plant, where they received first-hand looks at the solar panel-making process.


The Ontario solar industry has grown quickly since the provincial Liberal government created its feed-in tariff (FIT) program near the close of 2009. The program creates clean air and renewable energy job opportunities by paying high rates to producers of solar, wind, and biomass electricity who feed their projects into the grid. It also supports the creation of solar installation and other renewable energy classes and curricula that help train the next generation of energy workers. Investment in clean power projects has so far created at least 13,000 jobs in the province and Minister Duguid expects that it will add as many as 50,000 by the end of 2012. These jobs are welcome additions to an economy hit hard by the 2008/2009 recession that gutted the North American auto industry, on which the province relied heavily.



Company Creates Fifteen Renewable Energy Jobs, Parts for Solar Class Grads

SunRise Power is a retailer and manufacturer of solar products that include inverters and racking systems for photovoltaic installations. The company currently provides jobs for fifteen people and specializes in FIT-compliant systems that meet the program's requirements for made-in-Ontario components and local labour. These requirements help to keep both money and jobs in the province.

In addition to the FIT incentives, Ontario offers a number of other benefits to solar power producers and the businesses they serve. The province's solar PV classes bring much needed expertise to the industry as the local economy transitions from traditional manufacturing to greener and cleaner ways of doing business.

"We have the ability to take on the world," says the Energy Minister, who adds that Ontario plans to terminate operations at all of its coal-fired power plants by 2014. With the help of companies like SunRise Power, the province can meet this goal while it creates jobs and inspires green education and innovation for years to come.

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