Photovoltaic news and pv jobs

Ontario: Northland closes financing on 60 MW of PV

Northland Power Inc. has closed $227 million worth of financing for 60 MW of its 130 MW photovoltaic project portfolio in Ontario, Canada.

Northland plans to install 130 MW of photovoltaics in Ontario.

Flickr/Disposable Dreams

In March, the company, along with Aecon Group Inc. subsidiary, Miwel Construction Limited announced that it had been awarded a contract to install 60 MW of photovoltaics across six 10 MW systems near Smiths Falls and Belleville in Eastern Ontario, and Burk’s Falls near Huntsville. At the time, it was announced that work was underway on the systems, which are scheduled for commercial operation in 2013.

In a statement released yesterday, July 16, Northland said it had secured the $227 million construction credit facility, with a term of 18 years, from Union Bank Canada Branch, Mizuho Corporate Bank, Ltd and CIT Financial Ltd. Overall, it estimates that the projects will cost a total of $285 million.

All of the six projects will "sell the electricity under Ontario's renewable energy Feed-in-Tariff (FIT) program, and will use Ontario-made equipment and local Ontario labour," said the company in the statement.

The remaining 70 MW of projects from Northland’s 130 MW photovoltaic pipeline have already received power purchase agreements under the provinces FIT program, and the permitting process is said to be underway.