Switzerland-based ABB and its consortium partner, Ontario-based Bondfield Construction, have won an order from Canadian Solar Solutions to supply a 100 MW photovoltaic solar project for the Grand Renewable Energy Park in Ontario. ABB says its portion of the contract is worth about $80 million.
The plant is part of a $5 billion investment by Samsung Renewable Energy and partners to create a cluster of wind and solar power sources with the capacity to generate 1.37 GW of renewable energy. The first of these developments includes a 100 MW PV power plant and a 150 MW wind farm. Canadian Solar Solutions is the engineering, procurement and construction contractor for the plant.
ABB will provide a balance-of-system package consisting of a range of power and automation products, including ABB's Symphony Plus automation platform for power generation. ABB is also responsible for engineering, electrical installation, commissioning and performance testing of the plant. Civil and mechanical installation works will be performed by Bondfield Construction.
While the International Energy Agency reports that 267 MW of PV capacity was installed in Ontario in 2012 – a 70% increase on the previous year – some developers say utility-scale solar faces an uncertain future in the province with the passing of the feed-in tariff (FIT) for large projects. The Grand Renewable Energy Park is one of the projects initiated while that FIT was still in effect.
Once fully operational in 2015, the PV power plant is expected to produce 165 GWh of electricity a year.
