• Contact
  • Partner With Us
    1. Home

    Canadian Solar Opens Microgrid Test Center in Ontario

    March 17, 2014
    Ontario’s new microgrid test center will look at both on-grid and off-grid projects, including those that help First Nation communities, mines and other remote facilities.The provincial government hopes to gain a strong competitive advantage in microgrid development with the help of the testing center.

    Canadian Solar, one of the world’s largest solar power companies, has opened a microgrid test center in Ontario that will share information and services with utilities, colleges, communities, and companies that want to develop microgrids.

    Partially funded by the Ontario Ministry of Energy, the center will study both off-grid and grid-tied microgrid projects.

    “The Canadian Solar Microgrid Testing Center will serve as our newest addition to our Total Solutions strategy, and will help further strengthen our position in the emerging multi-billion dollar micro-grid and smart grid sector,” said Dr. Shawn Qu, Canadian Solar’s chairman and CEO.

    The provincial government hopes to gain a strong competitive advantage in microgrid development with the help of the testing center. It will focus in particular on testing, developing and integrating high penetration renewable energy into existing microgrids that are not grid connected.  The province sees benefit in off-grid projects for First Nations, remote communities and mining projects in Northern Ontario.

    Interested in microgrids? Join out new LinkedIn Group, Microgrid Knowledge, and keep up with the latest on this emerging energy choice.

    The center will be located in Guelph, Ontario.

    Founded in 2001 in Canada, Canadian Solar operates in North America, South America, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Australia and Asia. The company has delivered more than 6 GW of solar modules to customers in over 70 countries.

    About the Author

    Elisa Wood | Editor-in-Chief

    Elisa Wood is an award-winning writer and editor who specializes in the energy industry. She is chief editor and co-founder of Microgrid Knowledge and serves as co-host of the publication’s popular conference series. She also co-founded RealEnergyWriters.com, where she continues to lead a team of energy writers who produce content for energy companies and advocacy organizations.

    She has been writing about energy for more than two decades and is published widely. Her work can be found in prominent energy business journals as well as mainstream publications. She has been quoted by NPR, the Wall Street Journal and other notable media outlets.

    “For an especially readable voice in the industry, the most consistent interpreter across these years has been the energy journalist Elisa Wood, whose Microgrid Knowledge (and conference) has aggregated more stories better than any other feed of its time,” wrote Malcolm McCullough, in the book, Downtime on the Microgrid, published by MIT Press in 2020.

    Twitter: @ElisaWood

    LinkedIn: Elisa Wood

    Facebook:  Microgrids

    Email

    Image credit Chandler Stafford
    Image credit Marriott
    Inked Pixels / Shutterstock.com
    Image credit Catalyze

    Exploring the Potential of Community Microgrids Through Three Innovative Case Studies

    April 8, 2024
    Community microgrids represent a burgeoning solution to meet the energy needs of localized areas and regions. These microgrids are clusters of interconnected energy resources,...

    Destination: Net Zero – Six Steps Companies Can Take To Address Climate Goals

    Increasingly, companies around the world are under pressure to respond to global climate change, but many are struggling to meet ambitious climate goals because there is no clear...