Solar panel plant eyes Thunder Bay for development

A solar panel manufacturing company wants to set up a plant in Thunder Bay and create thousands of jobs once fully up and running.

Energy North Bancorp presented information to Thunder Bay city council Monday night and told councillors the company can employ up to 5,000 people once its assembly line is operational.

Ross Beatty, one of the partners in Energy North Bancorp, said the company would require about 1,000 acres for its plant.

"We've got an opportunity right now. We haven't located the spot, we've been looking," he said. "There are many opportunities here on what we require. But you do have what we're looking for."

Beatty said the panels would be made from sand that is found in northwestern Ontario, and added another major requirement is access to transportation.

Lee Judd, who speaks for the company, told city council a more complete business plan will be available in the next few weeks.

"Obviously, time is of the essence," she said. "The sooner that we are able to provide a manufacturing facility that is competitive, the sooner we can actually market production. The main constraint that we're going to have is viability of the natural gas supply."

Judd said the plant would probably use more natural gas than most of the city uses.

She said currently, the company isn't asking for anything from the city other than to have a letter of intent signed.

The plant would be financed privately, she said.