SolarWorld says it has begun shipping solar panels in rail containers from near its U.S. headquarters plant in Hillsboro, Ore., to supply the Stardale PV plant, a 33 MW installation on land totaling 300 acres in southeast Ontario.
Every week, an average of 30 trucks, each laden with 540 SolarWorld panels – about 3.75 MW total – leave the Hillsboro plant for the Port of Portland's nearby intermodal facility, where the panels are transferred to rail for their trip to Ontario. The plant site is located in rural East-Hawkesbury, just south of both the Ottawa River and Trans Canada Highway and about 45 miles west of Montreal. In all, 144,060 panels are expected to generate 39 GWh annually.
The Stardale PV solar project represents the first solar electric power project for Innergex Renewable Energy Inc., a developer, owner and operator of hydroelectric facilities and energy projects in North America. Enfinity owned and developed the project prior to its sale to Innergex and currently is the project partner for engineering, procurement and construction, as well as operations and maintenance.
Work on the project began in November 2010 and is expected to conclude by the first quarter of 2012, according to SolarWorld.