GP JOULE Nordamerica, is a subsidiary of GOLDBECK SOLAR, a global solar company based in Germany. The Hirschberg-based company was founded in 2011 and has since become one of the leading providers of EPC solutions in Canada and expanded into the northern US states. Since 2014, the company has built over 200 MWp of solar parks in Ontario, Alberta, Nova Scotia, Minnesota and New York and already has another 500 MWp in the pipeline.
The largest municipal solar initiative
AREA is currently developing a 9 MWp solar expansion at three sites in Berwick, Antigonish and Mahone Bay in Novia Scotia – the country’s largest municipal solar initiative to date, benefiting ratepayers directly in their towns. The projects will expand the region’s solar capacity by 30 percent and increase the number of homes that can be powered by clean renewable energy by 1,000. The largest contributors to emissions in Canada come from the burning of fossil fuels to generate energy. The Ellershouse project and the new solar parks will enable AREA to improve its own supply and develop its own HOME program as a clean heat source. The cities aim to reduce their own greenhouse gas emissions by 53 percent by 2030 and be the first net-zero communities in Canada by 2050.
The contribution to covering the city’s electricity needs
Since its inception in 2014, AREA has generated 23 million dollars for its owner cities and their municipal energy supply. The current collaboration at the state and municipal level ultimately benefits the utility’s end customers, who have little or no resources to install solar on their own properties. The Antigonish solar park alone achieves the capacity necessary to meet 3 percent of the city’s electricity needs.
The new solar parks at a glance:
- Antigonish solar park with 2.1 MWp, which will cover three percent of the city’s energy needs.
- Mahone Bay solar park with 1.9 MWp, which will cover around 16 percent of the city’s electricity needs.
- Berwick solar park with 4.8 MWp, which covers 15 percent of the city’s electricity needs.
Acting today for tomorrow
Aaron Long, Managing Director of AREA, says: “AREA wants to position our communities as sustainable and future-oriented with its energy decisions. A future that benefits our customers, the community and the environment. Solar energy is an excellent addition to our Ellershouse wind farm. We were looking for a committed and experienced company to help us expand our portfolio in line with our vision. Our collaboration with GP Joule is a key component of our community solar projects to not only make them economically viable, but also to create jobs with Nova Scotia’s decarbonization plans in mind.” Lenta Wright, AREA Project Development and Operations Manager adds: “Community solar projects will transform the implementation of solar energy in Nova Scotia and finally make it accessible to all people who want to participate. This tool will allow families and businesses in Novi Scotia to utilize clean energy generated in Nova Scotia at affordable prices.” “In 2020, we successfully entered the Novia Scotia market,” says David Pichard, CEO at GP JOULE. “Since then, we have been working very closely with AREA to realize these projects. They are community-based in the truest sense of the word and a blueprint for other communities. We are committed to local economic development in Nova Scotia and the Maritimes more broadly. The renewable energy industry is starting to grow in this region. In the summer of 2022, we opened an office in Halifax. Here we are hiring local talent and training students for a future in renewable energy through the Nova Scotia Community College network to support the growth of commercial and utility-scale solar and storage projects in the region.” The municipal utilities of Antigonish, Berwick, Mahone Bay and Riverport saw and seized the option in the early 2000s to start the path to a new energy future. A major step taken by the group was the establishment of AREA with significant support from Minas Energy. Between 2014 and 2017, the communities invested heavily in the development and operation of the Ellershouse wind farm. Today, the wind farm supplies more than 40 percent of the energy required by the owner communities and the Riverport Electric Light Commission. The facilities are the only ones to meet Nova Scotia’s 2020 standard. AREA has been developing solar projects in Nova Scotia since 2017, starting with a 1.5 MWp facility for 20 communities across the province developed through the Community Buildings Program. In 2020, AREA leveraged its commercial solar experience to develop Canada’s most significant solar project.
About GOLDBECK SOLAR (GP Joule North America)
On September 9, 2022, GOLDBECK SOLAR acquired the North American PV EPC business unit of GP JOULE North America. The vertically integrated EPC company delivers turnkey PV and energy storage power plants with proprietary single-axis tracking and fixed tilt racking systems. With more than 200 MWp of projects built in Canada and northern US states over the past eleven years and currently 200 MWp of contracts, GP JOULE EPC NA specializes in serving utility and C&I customers. Founded in 2011, the company is headquartered in Toronto (ON), has been present in Calgary (AB) since 2016 and in Halifax (NS) since 2022. Its US office is located in Los Gatos, CA.