Enbridge to acquire Ontario solar project from First Solar

7 October 2009

Energy company Enbridge Inc has agreed to acquire a 20MW solar energy project that First Solar has developed and is constructing near Sarnia, Ontario.

‘As society and governments increasingly accept green energy, we believe that solar energy represents meaningful opportunities for long-term growth,’ said Patrick D Daniel, president and CEO, Enbridge. ‘The Sarnia Solar Project is right in the sweet spot of Enbridge’s renewable energy strategy. It has risk and return characteristics which are fully consistent with Enbridge’s low-risk business model, and similar to our crude oil pipeline business. At the same time it represents a further step towards our corporate goal of a neutral environmental footprint.

‘In 2009, Enbridge’s investment in solar energy will be approximately CAN$100m. We plan to continue to invest in further renewable energy investments which have similar risk and return characteristics, including potential additional investments in Ontario.’

The Sarnia Solar Project is expected to be completed by the end of 2009 and be the largest photovoltaic solar energy facility in operation in Canada and one of the largest in North America.

‘Enbridge’s investment underscores the fact that large-scale solar photovoltaic power generation is becoming a reality,’ said Bruce Sohn, president of First Solar. ‘This agreement is the first that realizes the value of the OptiSolar project development pipeline that we acquired in April. First Solar’s project development and engineering, procurement and construction capabilities have enabled us to complete over 65 per cent of the 20MW project in less than three months.’

First Solar did not recognize revenue from this project in the fiscal third quarter.

First Solar will also provide operations and maintenance services under a long-term contract. The power output of the facility will be sold to the Ontario Power Authority pursuant to a 20-year power purchase pgreement under the terms of the Ontario Government’s Renewable Energy Standard Offer Program. Subject to certain conditions,
Enbridge is pleased to invest in infrastructure projects like the Sarnia Solar Project that are creating near term employment in Ontario, as well as advancing Ontario’s green energy policy objectives,’ said Daniel.

‘Ontario’s Green Energy Act demonstrates the commitment of Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty and the Honourable George Smitherman, Deputy Premier and Minister of Energy and Infrastructure to a diversified portfolio of green energy solutions and to encouraging investment in Ontario. We already own and operate the 190 MW Enbridge Ontario Wind Project in Bruce County, Ontario, the second largest in Canada, and we welcome the opportunity to help create additional environmentally preferred energy solutions and to support a diversified, interconnected and stable supply of green energy in Ontario.’

Enbridge has four existing wind energy projects which have a combined capacity of 260MW.

Copyright © 2009 NewNet

Tags: solar

This story was published on Wednesday, October 7th, 2009 at 5:50 pm and is filed under North America, deals, solar. You can follow any responses to article entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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