HAMILTON—A 100-megawatt solar (MW) project in Haldimand County was completed on schedule and is now operational to meet the needs of over 17,000 households of the Six Nations of the Grand River.
The project, commissioned by Samsung Renewable Energy and constructed by Connor, Clark and Lunn Infrastructure began in September 2013 and finished in less than two years.
"This day represents a historic day achieved only after investing four years of hard work with our partners Samsung and Connor, Clark and Lunn. What we have achieved is a template for many more green energy projects in the Haldimand Tract. The fact that the Grand Renewable Solar Project provides green energy for our coming generations is a significant accomplishment for all of us to celebrate," said Ava Hill, Chief of Six Nations Elected Council.
The project will assist Ontario in reducing its dependence on fossil energy by offsetting approximately 162,000 tonnes of C02, which is the equivalent to taking 29,610 cars off the roads.
The project has employed hundreds of people from across the province in every aspect — from manufacturing and assembly of the solar panels and inverters, to site construction, installation and now operations. An average of 240 workers and a peak of 450 were on site during construction, including local subcontractors that were utilized for various aspects of the project.
"This project is now producing one hundred megawatts of clean energy and created hundreds of high-skilled jobs and millions of dollars in community investment, all of which are benefiting real people in Haldimand and across the province," said Shin Kim, CEO of Samsung C & T.
"We are delighted to have completed this significant project. With approximately 250 MWs of solar projects in our growing infrastructure portfolio, Connor, Clark and Lunn is proud to be one of the largest owners of solar assets in Canada," said Matt O’Brien, President of Ontario-based Connor, Clark and Lunn Infrastructure.
Meanwhile, it is lights-out for another renewable energy project Samsung pitched. In the wake of the completion of the Grand Renewable Solar Project, the Mississauga-based company was disappointed to learn that after nearly a year of assessments, Hamilton city council rejected its proposal for the Mountsberg Solar Project in Flamborough, Ont.
The 60,000 panels would have produced 15-20 MWs, which is enough to power 5,000 households a year and would have been Hamilton’s largest ground-mounted solar project.
The project would have been constructed on 200-acres of non-prime agricultural land, fell under the province’s Green Energy Act, so the final decision was with the province’s Independent Electricity Systems Operator, which approves and regulates energy projects.
"We’ll work with (Hamilton) council with any future solar projects, but we respect their decision and won’t be going forward with submitting the Mountsberg project to IESO or the Province of Ontario," said Samsung Renewable Energy spokesperson, Tim Smitheman.
Samsung made a $5-billion deal with the province to generate up to 1,400 MW of electricity via wind and solar power. Their various projects are expected to create 900 direct renewable energy manufacturing jobs and 9,000 high-skilled jobs in the province. Currently, they are undertaking the Kingston Solar project, that will be a 100 MW facility and has 700 workers on site.
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