ATS Photowatt Ontario Plant Officially Opens
CAMBRIDGE, ON-ATS Automation Tooling Systems Inc. (ATS) officially opened its Photowatt Ontario Green Wing production facility. The Hon. Brad Duguid, Minister of Energy and Hon. John Milloy, Member of Provincial Parliament for Kitchener Centre and Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities, were on-hand to help mark the major milestone for solar manufacturing in Ontario.
Photowatt Ontario offers turnkey solar project development, installation and solar products. Photowatt Ontario has begun production of Photovoltaic (PV) modules on a new 100-megawatt line at the ATS campus in Cambridge, Ontario. The "Made in Ontario" production will meet rapidly growing Ontario demand from residential, commercial and industrial markets as well as large-scale solar fields. The world-class line was designed and built by the ATS Cambridge Automation division.
ATS has made a significant investment to serve the Ontario solar market with module manufacturing and turnkey solar installations and has initially created 150 jobs at ATS. ATS expects to hire more as demand grows. ATS believes that overall job creation related to solar in the province will be similar to Europe, where solar industry experience and International Energy Agency analysis estimate approximately 40 jobs have been created for every megawatt of solar installed. ATS has the manufacturing automation knowhow, facilities and resources to rapidly expand beyond the initial 100-megawatt capacity as demand from the Ontario marketplace and beyond grows.
"I'm extremely pleased to welcome the ATS Green Wing production facility to Ontario's growing clean energy economy," said Brad Duguid, provincial Energy Minister. "Photowatt Ontario is a great example of how the McGuinty government's vision for a vibrant renewable energy sector is coming to life. Our new Long-Term Energy Plan will ensure we continue on this path, and that companies like ATS remain an important part of our plan to clean up our air and create thousands of clean energy jobs for Ontarians."
"This is an important new facility for Ontario and Waterloo Region," said John Milloy, MPP for Kitchener Centre and Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities. "This investment by ATS in clean energy is helping to bring the kind of highly-skilled jobs to our province that will help fuel the knowledge economy of the future. It will contribute to a strong and competitive Ontario, and will help keep our environment clean for future generations."
"We commend Ontario for taking meaningful steps in addressing our aging electrical transmission system, green house gas emissions, outdated power generation and manufacturing jobs lost in the economic downturn of 2008," said Anthony Caputo, president and CEO, ATS Automation. "The Green Energy Act is very progressive and the feed-in tariff program accomplishes many of these multifaceted objectives."
Government support through its Green Energy Act is credited with advancing the acceptance of solar power at a crucial point in its evolution.
"The module line is one important element of ATS' Green Wing. We have started with panel manufacturing but are in numerous discussions with potential partners in many facets of the green energy industry. Industry seeks stability, predictability and steadfast application of rules and regulations. This type of environment will continue to attract investment, respect the competitive process, foster innovation and create new jobs," Caputo concluded.
Photowatt Ontario offers turnkey solar project development, installation and solar products. Photowatt Ontario has begun production of Photovoltaic (PV) modules on a new 100-megawatt line at the ATS campus in Cambridge, Ontario. The "Made in Ontario" production will meet rapidly growing Ontario demand from residential, commercial and industrial markets as well as large-scale solar fields. The world-class line was designed and built by the ATS Cambridge Automation division.
ATS has made a significant investment to serve the Ontario solar market with module manufacturing and turnkey solar installations and has initially created 150 jobs at ATS. ATS expects to hire more as demand grows. ATS believes that overall job creation related to solar in the province will be similar to Europe, where solar industry experience and International Energy Agency analysis estimate approximately 40 jobs have been created for every megawatt of solar installed. ATS has the manufacturing automation knowhow, facilities and resources to rapidly expand beyond the initial 100-megawatt capacity as demand from the Ontario marketplace and beyond grows.
"I'm extremely pleased to welcome the ATS Green Wing production facility to Ontario's growing clean energy economy," said Brad Duguid, provincial Energy Minister. "Photowatt Ontario is a great example of how the McGuinty government's vision for a vibrant renewable energy sector is coming to life. Our new Long-Term Energy Plan will ensure we continue on this path, and that companies like ATS remain an important part of our plan to clean up our air and create thousands of clean energy jobs for Ontarians."
"This is an important new facility for Ontario and Waterloo Region," said John Milloy, MPP for Kitchener Centre and Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities. "This investment by ATS in clean energy is helping to bring the kind of highly-skilled jobs to our province that will help fuel the knowledge economy of the future. It will contribute to a strong and competitive Ontario, and will help keep our environment clean for future generations."
"We commend Ontario for taking meaningful steps in addressing our aging electrical transmission system, green house gas emissions, outdated power generation and manufacturing jobs lost in the economic downturn of 2008," said Anthony Caputo, president and CEO, ATS Automation. "The Green Energy Act is very progressive and the feed-in tariff program accomplishes many of these multifaceted objectives."
Government support through its Green Energy Act is credited with advancing the acceptance of solar power at a crucial point in its evolution.
"The module line is one important element of ATS' Green Wing. We have started with panel manufacturing but are in numerous discussions with potential partners in many facets of the green energy industry. Industry seeks stability, predictability and steadfast application of rules and regulations. This type of environment will continue to attract investment, respect the competitive process, foster innovation and create new jobs," Caputo concluded.
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