Strathcona Solar provides Hanover Building Centre with 140 kW photovoltaic array, leases roof in partnership with Shawanaga First Nation

Belleville, Ontario—December 29, 2015. Strathcona Solar Initiatives, a multiple award winning full service integrator in Southeastern Ontario, recently completed the installation of a high-yielding 140-kilowatt photovoltaic system on the Rona Building Centre in Hanover, Southern Ontario. The array is one of 30 projects that the Strathcona Energy Group and Shawanaga First Nation own jointly in an investment partnership, leasing the roof space from the owner of the building.

The Haack family has owned the 27,000 square foot home improvement center in the small town of Hanover since 2003. From the beginning, Mr. Haack has been keen on being a leader in energy efficiency, not only because it optimizes his operations and saves money on utility costs but also because he feels it is his responsibility toward the community and future generations.

That he was able to utilize an already existing part of his store and warehouse area to create revenue without upfront costs was ideal, he says, and he is planning on investing some of the rent income to upgrade the building and its surroundings. The income from the solar panels will also allow him to pay off some of the debt that owning a store brings with it.

"I am not sure the Hanover store is the first Rona Centre in Ontario to rent out its roof space for solar revenue, but I do think its the wave of the future," says Brian Haack, the President and Owner of Hanover Rona Building Centre. "Being financially as well as environmentally sustainable is a crucial part of our business philosophy, and in Strathcona we found an ideal partner to pursue this goal on a very profitable level."

The 140 kilowatt array with 622 top-yielding Canadian-manufactured solar modules was designed and installed by Strathcona Solar Initiatives who will also be monitoring and servicing the array to ensure maximum production over the several-decade long lifetime of the system. The generated electricity is fed back into the grid under Ontarios IESO 20-year Feed-in-Tariff (FiT).

"It is great for us to work with business owners like Brian Haack at Rona Hanover because they understand the low risk and high yields of a long-term sustainable investment in solar energy," says Karl Hollett, the CEO and founder of Strathcona Energy Group. "It is also an absolute honor and privilege for us to partner with Shawanaga First Nation again in making this project come to fruition."


About Strathcona Solar Initiatives — Full Service Solution

Strathcona Solar Initiatives is an award winning full service solutions provider located in Ontario that specializes in the design, installation, and maintenance of solar initiatives. Strathcona Solar provides client specific sales, engineering, as well as operational support for solar applications from high-yielding solar trackers to rooftop and ground-mount solar, solar pumps, and solar lights. All solutions are engineered using only the highest quality components from proven global partners. Strathcona Solar Initiatives is part of the Strathcona Energy Group (SEG) which specializes in providing vertically integrated solutions for the next generation of photovoltaics.


About Strathcona Energy Group - Making Energy Together

Strathcona Energy Group (SEG) is a Canadian-based holding company specializing in vertically integrated solutions for the next generation of photovoltaics. Group members provide manufacturing for over 200 MW of top-performing solar modules, from building-integrated solar and market revolutionizing PV and ACPV modules, to mounting components as well as EPC, sales, and installation services. Strathcona and its wholly owned subsidiaries Strathcona Energy International and Strathcona Solar Initiatives offer services spanning from utility scale and commercial to agricultural and residential solar applications across the globe.


About Shawanaga First Nation

Shawanaga First Nation belongs to the larger Anishnabek Nation which stretches across much of Ontario, east across the Prairies and around the northern shores of all the Great Lakes. The Anishnabek Nation is comprised of Algonquin, Saulteaux, Anishnabe (Ojibway), Odawa, Chippewa and several other groups. In pre-contact times, Anishnabe in this region ranged from the Seguin River to the south, the Magnetawan River to the north, west to Georgian Bay (including the 30,000 islands) and east to the Ottawa valley. Anishnabe traded fish and furs with the Wendat, who were farmers. Trade routes brought copper from the west and shells from the east. Leaders met together to maintain peace and alliances.



Media Contact

Susanne F. Quinn
Head of Corporate Communications
Email: Susanne.Quinn@strathconaenergy.com
Phone: +1 (478) 230-3347

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