A groundbreaking ceremony took place at the Windsor International Airport on Thursday, ushering in the new Windsor solar project that is expected to create about 225 jobs.

Samsung Renewable Energy, Inc. and Connor, Clark & Lunn Infrastructure broke ground on the 50 megawatt solar project that will use Ontario-made panels and inverters to generate clean, renewable energy equal to the needs of approximately 8,500 Ontario homes each year.

“I am delighted to welcome a project that not only brings a green energy investment to the airport lands but additional revenue to the city as well,” said Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens.

Steve Cho, vice president of Samsung says they are proud to start construction on their third Ontario solar energy project.

“The Windsor solar project will create hundreds of high-skilled jobs that will benefit real people in this community,” says Cho.

Officials say workers and subcontractors from across southwestern Ontario will be involved in every aspect of the Windsor solar project, from manufacture and assembly of the panels and inverters to site construction, installation work and project operations.

Windsor Solar will utilize approximately 193,000 Ontario-made solar panels from Canadian Solar in London and solar inverters from SMA America in Don Mills.

The company says there will be about 225 workers in total on-site throughout project construction and 175 workers during peak construction periods. Local subcontractors will also be involved in various aspects of project construction.

The project is scheduled for completion in the fall of 2016.