Ontario's provincial government hopes that a series of clean energy deals it has signed will produce an estimated 2,200 jobs.
The six projects consist of both solar and wind farms. They will cost $1.3 billion to build and will be financed privately, the government said Frdiay.
SkyPower signed a 20-year agreement to supply wind-generated electricity to Ontario Power Authority.
"Ontario's time has come to really benefit not only from wind, but from the jobs and economic development it will create," said Kerry Adler, CEO of SkyPower.
Its 64.5-Megawatt Bryan wind project will be located in scenic Prince Edward County, located south of Belleville.
Three other projects will be located in Chatham-Kent in the southwest, as will another project in Essex County to be operated by Brookfield Renewable Power Inc. Another project will be located in Thunder Bay.
Taken together, the projects will provide enough electricity to power 120,000 homes.
"Wind is wonderful, in the sense that it has no fuel supply that it has to pay for," Energy Minister George Smitherman said Friday. "On the other hand, it's intermittent, which means that some days when you want it the most, it's not there for you."
The key is to deliver an energy supply mix that delivers reliability, he said.
CTV Toronto's Paul Bliss said that farmers will get millions for the leasing of their land and for help with legal fees.
The province will also be making it easier to establish such renewable energy projects in the future.
However, he said Smitherman cautioned the province will still need two new nuclear generating stations.
With a report from CTV Toronto's Paul Bliss and files from The Canadian Press
