Photo by Zach Neal. |
Paul
Morden, Sarnia Observer
Ubiquity Solar announced this
week it is moving forward with plans for a $10.3-million pilot plant project at
the TransAlta Bluewater Energy Park in Sarnia.
CEO Ian
MacLellan said the pilot plant is the next step in the commercialization of
Ubiquity Solar's technology to manufacture polysilicon bricks and wafers for
use in photovoltaic cells for the solar energy industry.
"We
have just a great team in place, and we're really excited to get moving forward
here," he said.
The
company expects to have approximately 15 staff involved in the pilot plant,
with 10 located in Sarnia in an existing building on the TransAlta site on
Vidal Street South.
The
long-term plan for the company is to build a commercial production plant, also
expected to be located at the TransAlta site, with a workforce that could grow
to 500 jobs after five years.
MacLellan
spoke in 2013 about the Ontario company's plans during a Sarnia-Lambton
Economic Partnership event in Sarnia, and federally-funded Sustainable
Development Technology Canada announced $3.1 million in funding in June 2014
for the pilot plant.
Link to the rest here.
Zach Neal. |
Additional Coverage:
Lee Michaels, Blackburn News
It could set the groundwork for a new manufacturing facility in Sarnia that could employ up to 500 people.
Ubiquity Solar has received a $500,000 investment from Sarnia-based Bioindustrial Innovation Canada’s Sustainable Chemistry Alliance Investment Fund to establish a $10.3-million pilot plant at TransAlta’s Bluewater Energy Park in Sarnia.
Ubiquity Solar has developed a process to produce high-purity silicon at a lower cost than traditional technologies that can be used in both the electronic and PV industries.
“The target that we’ve set is to build a 10,000 ton plant in Sarnia that would produce enough material to produce four gigawatts of solar panels a year, 50 times more than are at the Sarnia Solar Farm” says Ubiquity President and CEO Ian MacLellan.
Note to the above image, taken of the Sarnia
Solar Plant already in existence. (Wiki.)
Thank you for reading.
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