The Ontario Government's Feed-In-Tariff (FIT) program for renewable energy -- which guarantees an above-market rate for 20 years to those who feed the grid with sustainable power -- has created a bonanza for those in the sustainable power generation business. Last week, the
province announced that 500 projects had been approved under the program, and many more announcements are pending.
Among those benefiting is Markham-based
NorthGrid Solar, who on March 15 announced the
opening of two new regional offices in Ontario in Ottawa and Sault Ste. Marie, which add to the reach of the company's existing offices in Markham and Hamilton. According to NorthGrid Solar President and CEO Carlo Di Gioacchino, the company has not even really begun to fulfill its expansion plans. "The FIT program has improved business dramatically," he says. "We've really just launched our partnership in the last couple of months and we've already exceeded our first-year projections by orders of magnitude."
The company is currently hiring, and Di Gioaccino says they're looking to take on "dozens and dozens" of employees over the next year as projects get approved. He says that most of the jobs will be located in the city of Toronto, where the company is currently seeking a site for a large industrial manufacturing space.
Writer: Edward Keenan
Source: Carlo Di Gioacchino, President & CEO, NorthGrid Solar