The provincial government says a new wind tower manufacturing plant will bring as many as 700 jobs to the southwestern Ontario city of Windsor.
The plant will mean 300 full-time jobs and up to 400 construction and indirect service jobs for the city, which has been hard hit by the economic downturn.
The wind tower plant is part of a $7-billion green energy deal between the province and Korean giant Samsung.
The plant will be built and run by a new Ontario subsidiary of CS Wind, a Korean-based company that has partnered with Samsung.
CS Wind's chairman Sung Gon Gim says it's hoped the plant will be operational by next October and that it will turn out 200 to 300 turbine towers a year.
The province says Samsung and its partners will use 100 per cent Ontario steel to manufacture all of their towers -- a projected 200,000 tonnes of domestic steel with a face value of $140 million.
The province has billed the project as part of its "clean energy plan" to move Ontario toward cleaner energy sources such as wind, solar and bio-energy, rather than coal.
"Today's announcement with Samsung and CS Wind is part of Ontario's energy plan to eliminate polluting coal, create good jobs and clean up the air our kids breathe," Energy Minister Brad Duguid said Wednesday.
Windsor Mayor Eddie Francis said the city is "thrilled" to have the plant.
"Ontario's clean economy is playing a very big part in helping us move successfully into the future and to become a city of choice in which to invest and create jobs," Francis said.
