Open Waters Solar lands $330K grant to automate solar panel production
What's the deal? Open Waters SolarDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → has received a 450,000 CAD (≈$330,000) grant from Pacific Economic Development CanadaDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → under the Regional Tariff Response Initiative (RTRI). The Prince George company will use the money to automate manufacturing, upgrade its facility, and train employees.
What does it do? Open Waters Solar designs, models, and builds impact-resistant solar panels for marine and transportation applications, supplying vessels worldwide from its base in Northern BC.
Why now? The RTRI was launched to give businesses affected by trade disruptions greater access to liquidity. Open Waters Solar was one of 10 organizations in Northern BC sharing a total of $11 million, split between the RTRI and the Community Economic Development and Diversification program.
What's the endgame? Minister of Housing and Infrastructure Gregor Robertson announced the funding on September 4 after touring the facility. "Incredible technology being developed here in Prince George by BC entrepreneurs who are having some global impact already," he said, adding it was "very promising for creating more jobs and putting BC on the map in an industry where we haven't been."
Robertson said the company was chosen partly because it had already drawn private backing. Government support, he noted, matters as Canadian companies scale.
The signal: The grant sits in the lower half of comparable funding amounts, scoring in roughly the 47th percentile. But its framing is telling: Ottawa is channelling tariff-response money into advanced manufacturing, betting on niche exporters to diversify a regional economy long tied to forestry.
Read more: princegeorgecitizen.com
Image credit: Generated with Gemini
