Further securing Ontario’s place as the greenest province in Canada, SkyPower announced this week that it will begin construction on a new 8.5-megawatt solar photovoltaic park in Thunder Bay in early 2011.

The new solar park will be built on Thunder Bay International Airport and is expected to generate enough energy after its first year to supply 1,000 homes and almost 15,000 homes with power over the next 20 years that the project is operating, according to a SkyPower press release.

The project, which is planned to break ground in early 2011 and be online by the summer, will likely generate about 100 construction jobs, said SkyPower spokesman Brett James.

This is the second major SkyPower solar installation in Canada, according to the release.

The first was the First Light project outside of Stone Miller, James said.

That project generates 19 megawatts of power and was finished in 2008.

"This is another important clean energy and job creation milestone for Ontario in the Thunder Bay region," Kerry Adler, President and Chief Executive Officer of SkyPower, was quoted in the press release. "I would like to thank the Thunder Bay International Airports Authority, our business partners and most importantly the region of Thunder Bay for their open arms, foresight and economic innovation. This project is a testament to the great things that can be accomplished for the environment and future generations when we work together."

In addition to the direct construction jobs the project is expected to create, Thunder Bay community leaders said they are hopeful the project will draw traffic and indirectly create a number of other jobs, according to the release.

“We are very excited to see this project becoming reality after several years in the making," said Scott McFadden, president and CEO of Thunder Bay International Airports Authority. "This is another first for the TBIAA as we effectively become the first ‘solar-powered’" airport in Canada."

Solar capacity in Ontario has been steadily rising over recent years. It was the first province in the country to offer subsidies to homeowners who install solar panels.

Industry analysts expect it to grow to 1,200 megawatts by 2025, according to news reports.

Image courtesy of Thunder Bay Chamber of Commerce.