Opel Solar, Inc. (Opel), recently announced that the US Patent Office has approved a patent for its latest high concentration photovoltaic (HCPV) module.  The new technology promises to increase the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of solar PV installations.  This most recent patent is the international company’s thirty-third, with seventeen others pending.  Opel’s (more…)

Suntech Power Holding Co., Ltd. (Suntech), and Calisolar, Inc. (Calisolar), have signed a letter of intent to build a solar silicon plant in Vaughan, Ontario, which will produce the mineral for use in the renewable energy industry.  The plant will expand upon current operations by (more…)

The Curve Lake First Nation Reservation, located north-west of Peterborough, recently added 10 kW of renewable solar (more…)

Sarnia Solar Facility, deemed the world’s largest solar power station, has opened in Canada. Located in Ontario, it has a capacity of 80MW, 20MW above Olmedilla PV Park in Spain, which so far has held the title as the largest of its kind in the world. Sarnia is expected to generate 120,00MWh per year, or enough power for 12,800 homes. (more…)

Another exciting, innovative solar installation project has arrived in Ontario. A set of 162 solar thermal collectors are currently being constructed at Oxford Gardens, a retirement village in the town of Woodstock. The project is one of the largest of its kind ever undertaken in Canada. A partnership between Woodstock-based solar equipment (more…)

Direct Energy and Pure Energies, Inc. announced last month, a new partnership that takes advantage of the Ontario Green Energy Act’s lucrative feed-in tariff (FIT) program. Together, the two companies will offer packages tailored to the needs of individual home-owners, marrying solar PV technology with high-efficiency heating and cooling services and maintenance. Direct Energy and Pure Energies hope (more…)

Ontario solar power company, Enfinity Canada, Ltd., has expanded its business to include outreach and education initiatives. Earlier this month, Enfinity made available for download the Executive Brief portion of its document entitled “Key Considerations for Developing Rooftop Solar Photovoltaic Installations.” Enfinity hopes that this report will act as a blueprint, enabling building (more…)

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), a branch of the US Department of Energy, has published a study relating feed-in tariffs (FIT) to the accelerating production of renewable energy.

According to the study, FITs are the most effective means of encouraging the (more…)

Provincial Energy Minister, Brad Duguid, recently toured a hydroelectric project in Kapuskasing, Ontario to promote the province’s push for a greener and more sustainable economy.  During his visit, Duguid stated, “I really think the Green Energy Act is good for the North,” referring to the provincial government’s legislation designed to bolster investment in a cleaner, (more…)

Canadian Solar, Inc., announced in mid-August that it will soon open its first Canadian solar module manufacturing plant in Guelph, Ontario. On August 11, Ontario’s Energy and Infrastructure Minister, Brad Duguid, was joined by local politicians and other officials to hear the announcement from the company’s President, Shawn Qu, at a large vacant industrial building in the (more…)