OTTAWA May 18, 2011 – The Ontario Government’s commitment to renewable energy is serving Ontarians well – and jobs are the result, notes the Canadian Solar Industries Association.
“Our members are announcing long-term plans to do business in Ontario, opening plants and reviving communities,” said Elizabeth McDonald, CanSIA President, following up on a hugely successful conference in Windsor, which drew three times the crowd expected. “Ontario’s solar manufacturing industry has grown more in the last year than any other sector of manufacturing. To date more than 30 internationally recognized solar manufacturing companies have been established in Ontario and many more are preparing to do so in the near future. Ontario is poised to retake its position as a world-class solar manufacturing hub.”
CanSIA points out that while many sectors of the province’s economy have recovered steadily since the global economic crisis, soft demand in the United States (Ontario’s main export market) has led to the entire manufacturing industry struggling to surpass pre-recession levels. Since global demand for solar equipment has enjoyed average annual increases of 30 – 50 per cent for the past decade, major investment opportunities have emerged for Ontario-made products, engineering and intellectual property.
The solar energy systems installed in Ontario in 2010 resulted in over $750 million being injected into Ontario’s economy. MicroFIT and FIT programs only pay for energy produced and do not cover the costs of building the generating plants, operation or maintenance. The fact is that $750 million was invested in the province before a single cent was paid to any member of the solar industry in return. Ontario receives all of the benefits of the operating solar systems – through clean energy - without paying for the equipment and its maintenance or operation.
“In short, it is Ontarians who are embracing the Green Energy Act and its Feed-in-Tariff program. Companies are coming to Ontario to do business and fulfill the demand created by large and small business owners across the province,” said McDonald. “The result is a stronger province, clean energy and jobs for people in the communities where they live – often those hardest hit by the recession.”
The Canadian Solar Industries Association is a national trade association that represents approximately 650 solar energy companies throughout Canada. Since 1992, CanSIA has worked to develop a strong, efficient, ethical and professional Canadian solar energy industry with capacity to provide innovative solar energy solutions and to play a major role in the global transition to a sustainable, clean-energy future.
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Contact:
Sylvie Powell, MédiaLane Communications Inc.
(613) 290-1497
Retrieved from http://cansia.ca/news-media-archive/ontario’s-commitment-greener-future-has-stimulated-investment-created-jobs
* color and emphasis added by the blogger
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