Atlas Tube, North America's largest independent manufacturer of hollow structural steel sections, will develop North America's largest rooftop Solar Photovoltaic (PV) project in conjunction with OYA Solar Inc., Ontario's premiere developer of solar PV systems.
The 3.5 Megawatt (MW) solar project, which will cover nearly 650,000 square feet of roof top space (12 football fields), will be located at the Atlas facility, a division of the John Maneely Company located in Harrow, Ontario. The project is the largest of both current and planned rooftop solar installations in North America, which currently includes a 2.5 MW System at the FedEx distribution center in New Jersey and a 2.6 MW project in Salt Lake City, Utah. Supplying enough electricity to power 300 homes, the project will provide 30 percent of Atlas's annual energy consumption. Along with its strategic development partners such as Polar Racking (Polar), Conergy Canada and Tremco Weatherproofing Technologies, OYA expects the first 500 kilowatt (kW) of the project to be commissioned by next spring. The total investment is expected to be $20 Million.
In addition to the announcement, Polar, one of OYA's sister companies, unveiled its strategic alliance with Atlas. Polar, who designs, manufactures and assembles racking in Windsor, ON, will work with Atlas to manufacture its second generation of rooftop racking systems. Quickly becoming Ontario's market leader for racking solutions, Polar currently works with the majority of Ontario's solar developers. The new generation of Polar's racking system will build on existing designs and will utilize components manufactured by Atlas.
Incorporating Atlas' steel tube provides Polar with competitive cost, greater strength and structural rigidity over the use of aluminum as well as other benefits in solar applications. "Atlas has been a leader in this field" said David Seeger, President of John Maneely Company (parent of Atlas Tube), "We have seen significant growth in the demand for our steel tube used in solar racking systems, throughout North America. We feel that our manufacturing capacity, value-added services and reputation in the marketplace creates a unique combination of attributes that compliments the growing needs of our solar industry customers."
"This announcement continues to position the region as a leader in solar technology and manufacturing. We welcome and congratulate OYA Solar and Atlas Tube on this outstanding announcement today." said Ron Gaudet, CEO of WindsorEssex Economic Development Corporation.