Solar firm expects expansion to bring 130 new jobs to Belleville, Ont.
by The Canadian Press
Strathcona Energy Group plans to turn former Nortel Networks Corp. building into solar panel manufacturing facility
BELLEVILLE, Ont.—Expansion by a green energy company is expected to bring 130 new jobs to Belleville, Ont.
Strathcona Energy Group has bought the former Nortel Networks Corp. building in the city and plans to turn it into a manufacturing facility.
The plant will produce solar modules to be used mostly in the North American market on pre-existing structures, and manufacturing is expected to begin early next year.
The company recently hired 50 people at its plant in Napanee, Ont., east of Belleville, which designs, installs and maintains solar products.
Production is to begin at that plant later this month, mostly for the European market, and its products will include solar solutions that can be integrated into new buildings.
The projects were supported by the federal government with $100,000 in grants and $750,000 in loans through the Community Futures Development Corp. and the Southern Ontario Innovation Fund.
