TORONTO (Dow Jones)–Canadian Solar Inc. (CLSR) has every intention of following through with plans to build a solar-panel manufacturing facility in Ontario, the company's Chief Executive, Shawn Qu, told Dow Jones.
"If we said we will do it, we will do it," Qu said in an interview at an industry conference in Toronto Monday.
Qu's comments come after Canadian Solar said last week it plans to spend C$24 million to build a 200-megawatt module-manufacturing facility in Ontario. The plant, whose location has yet to be determined, is expected to create 500 jobs and begin operations in 2010.
Qu, who lived in Ontario for 11 years before starting Canadian Solar, said he sees Ontario as Canadian Solar's backyard and doesn't anticipate problems building the facility, noting that Canadian Solar has built seven module-manufacturing facilities in China. "We can handle it easily," he said.
Last week's announcement highlights the interest sparked by Ontario's feed-in-tariff program. The program, the first of its kind in North America, offers generous financial incentives to spur development of renewable-energy projects in Ontario. However, to be eligible for FIT subsidies, 50% of goods and services used in a solar project must originate in Ontario. That will rise to 60% by 2011.
The domestic-content requirement, which is aimed at jump-starting Ontario's hard-hit manufacturing sector, has raised concerns among some foreign entities, who fear they will either be unable to participate in the FIT program, or that the business opportunity in Ontario could be curtailed by the high domestic-content bar.
During one panel discussion, Ron Mantay, general manager of Shuco Canada, expressed support for the FIT program and Ontario's Green Energy Act but said he is concerned the 60% threshold is "too much, too soon." He said Schuco has held discussions with the Ontario government and there may be some appetite to reconsider the upper end of the domestic content requirement. However, he added that it is unclear if and when this would happen.
Canadian Solar's Qu said he hopes the government sticks to its plans. Otherwise, he said it would be unfair to companies playing by the rules. Qu said he isn't aware of any plans to change the domestic-content requirement, but he said he has heard the debate.
In an email, Amy Tang, spokeswoman for Ontario's Minstry of Energy and Infrastructure, said the government has no plans to reduce its domestic-content-requirement thresholds.
The conference, which is being run by the Canadian Solar Industries Association, was sold out, underscoring the interest that Ontario's FIT is generating. Several big-name foreign firms that do not have a presence yet in Ontario were in attendance, including LDK Solar Co. (LDK), SunPower Corp. (SPWRA) and Trina Solar Ltd. (TSL).
