Ubiquity Solar Hoping For Bright Future

Ubiquity Solar continues the complicated process of setting up a unique $10.3-million pilot plant in Sarnia. The plant, at the TransAlta site on Vidal St. S., will test the commercial viability of a polysillicon-based product to be sold to customers who make solar cells. Company Vice-President Cathy MacLellan told the Seaway Kiwanis Club Tuesday that the goal is to start small and produce high purity and efficiency at low cost. She says this is the first production of its kind in Canada, and since there are no customers available here, they will sell in the U.S. and Asia. "The more pure it is, the better quality the product," says MacLellan. "Solar has become so mainstream, and it's like anything else. It's a process and the solar industry is slowly moving towards the best quality, the best efficiency, which means they last longer, they generate more electricity out of your sq. ft. of cell space." Assembly of the pilot plant, announced in September, is in the early stages. Ubiquity Solar will hire two process engineers for the pilot project, and have already filled a number of other positions. The company hopes to eventually build a full commerical production plant, at the TransAlta site, that could create 500 or more jobs.