By Paul Morden, The Observer www.theobserver.ca
A pair of solar farms that First Solar Inc. plans to build in St. Clair Township this year are being sold to a Florida-based company.
The sale to NextEra Energy Inc., was announced in a press release on First Solar’s website.
“First Solar’s business model is that we’re a manufacturer, developer, constructor of solar projects and solar farms,” said Peter Carrie, First Solar’s vice-president of business development in Canada.
“We’re not an electricity generator, so we never own our projects once they come into service.”
A 80-megawatt solar farm First Solar developed in Sarnia recently was sold to Enbridge Inc.
“We reach an agreement with a long-term owner and then we build the project and transfer it to them at completion,” Carrie said.
St. Clair Mayor Steve Arnold said township council wasn’t aware of the sale but added he wasn’t concerned about the change.
“It could mean . . . somebody else sees a good opportunity too,” Arnold said. “That’s always a positive thing, if you have outside agencies taking a look at it and saying this is a place they want to invest.”
In St. Clair Township, First Solar is planning to build a 20-megawatt solar farm on 297 acres of land northeast of Mooretown, north of Rokeby Line and west of Highway 40.
It’s also planning a 20-megawatt solar farm on 347 acres east of Sombra Village, south of Bentpath Line and east of Baseline Road.
Both projects, Carrie said, are awaiting approval from the Ontario Ministry of Environment so construction can begin.
Carrie said he’s expecting a ministry decision on the Moore project in February or March. “Sombra may follow, two to four weeks afterwards.”
Construction will begin “quite promptly” once approvals are in place, and the projects are each expected to take about six months to complete, Carrie said.
Each of the farms in St. Clair will employ about 250 people during construction, he said.
The power from the farms will be sold to the Ontario Power Authority under long-term contracts. The two centres are expected to provide enough power to serve about 6,440 homes.
Carrie said First Solar currently doesn’t have any other projects planned for Lambton County.
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