Solar panel maker Strathcona launches $7.8M expansion at Belleville, Ont. plant
by Cleantech Canada Staff
Cleantech company eyes export growth as it adds 100,000 square-feet of floor space to primary manufacturing site east of Toronto
After moving to a 300,000 square-foot facility once owned by Nortel in 2015, the solar panel maker is looking to scale up. PHOTO: Strathcona Energy Group
BELLEVILLE, Ont.—As the Canadian cleantech sector booms, Ontario solar panel maker Strathcona Energy Group Inc. is set to launch a $7.8 million expansion project at its new Belleville, Ont. headquarters and manufacturing plant.
The company moved into a 300,000 square-foot facility, once owned by Nortel Networks Corp., last year, but now plans to tack on an additional 100,000 square-feet of floor space. Strathcona also plans to purchase new technology as it works to increase its production and export more of its standard photovoltaic and bifacial PV technology. FedDev Ontario is contributing $1.95 million toward the project.
“This financial support is a hallmark for the government’s commitment to the implementation of clean energy technologies and sustainability in general and signals that industries like ours are the industries of the future and that these are the jobs to continue developing in our economy,” the company’s CEO, Karl Hollett, said in a statement.
Working with customers at every stage of the solar process—from financing and design to installation—Strathcona has worked on a diverse range of projects across Ontario.
The investment will create 86 new full-time jobs in Belleville.
