SunEdison, one of the world's largest solar energy service providers, has had a quiet presence in Toronto since 2007. But VP and Canada Country Manager Jason Gray says that business has really taken off since Ontario's
Feed-in-Tariff (FIT) program really started rolling last year. "We had two employees in Toronto, and we hired our third in November 2009." Gray says. "Since then we've grown to 35 employees."
The solar energy giant offers full-service operations, financing, installing and operating power plants. Gray says that the attractive pricing of Ontario's FIT program makes this a location that feeds a solar energy boom. "I travel quite a bit internationally, and Canada and especially Ontario are references that come up quite a bit," he says. "There's certainly an awareness out there that this location is growing as a solar energy leader."
In addition to its own hiring and growth (
they are advertising nine open positions in Toronto now), Gray says that SunEdison's projects are creating local jobs through contractors. "We have three large-scale projects in development now that will employ about 150 people each in their construction," he says. Gray also points to SunEdison's
deal with Samco Solar in Scarborough, officially launching this Friday, which will see the division of the local auto parts manufacturer produce racking equipment for SunEdison's Canadian projects.
Writer: Edward Keenan
Source: Jason Gray, VP and Canada Country Manager, SunEdison