GDF SUEZ Canada has begun commercial operation of its 10MW Beckwith Solar Project together with its consortium partners Mitsui & Co and Fiera Axium Infrastructure.

Power generated from the project will be sold to the Ontario Power Authority under a 20-year power purchase agreement.

The project, which was developed under Ontario’s Feed-in Tariff (FIT) Program, has the capacity to generate clean, renewable energy for approximately 1,700 homes in Ontario.

Located around 50km from Ottawa, the $50m project consists of 44,000 solar panels on approximately 80 acres of land.

"The $50m project consists of 44,000 solar panels on approximately 80 acres of land."

With the addition of the Beckwith Solar Project, the three companies currently operate 680MW of wind- and solar-powered generation facilities in the Canadian Maritimes, Ontario, and British Columbia. Beckwith is the joint venture’s twelfth renewable energy installation in Canada.

GDF SUEZ Canada’s president Mike Crawley said, "We are proud to be providing another form of clean, renewable energy to the province and hope the Beckwith solar facility, along with our 10MW Brockville solar facility that began commercial operation in Ontario last year, will be the first of many solar projects in our portfolio, whether utility-scale or rooftop."

A joint venture of AMEC and Black & McDonald was responsible for engineering, construction, and performance of the project.

The construction team consisted primarily of laborers and electricians from Ontario.

Energy