National Bank of Canada backing Ontario solar facilities

The National Bank of Canada is backing three solar power plants planned for Ontario with more than $100 million in construction financing, Canadian Solar said.

The solar power company said the bank was backing the three facilities with $105 million in short-term construction financing. Combined, the three facilities will generate 30 megawatts of power for the Ontario grid.

"The strength and breadth of our broader global financing network directly reflects Canadian Solar's tier 1 position in the solar industry, and is helping us to streamline and speed the development process," Shawn Qu, the company's top executive, said in a statement Friday.

The facilities, some of which should come online later this year, are covered under a 20-year power purchase contract by the Ontario Power Authority.

The Canadian government says solar energy is a relatively small contributor to the overall energy mix, but its usage is growing.

Since 2000, installed capacity of solar energy has increased at a rate of 9.5 percent in terms of market penetration per year.

In 2011, the last full year for which data are available, installed solar capacity was 495 megawatts.