news digest ♦ Solar
and clean energy industry. This cutting-edge facility brings hundreds of new high-tech jobs to the East Valley and adds to the ongoing development of the Gateway area,” Mayor Scott Smith said.
“Projects like this don’t happen without the cooperation between the private and public sectors, region and state. I’d like to thank those partners, especially First Solar and DMB, for working together to bring this facility to the Mesa Proving Grounds.”
“Our Mesa factory has progressed from an idea to advanced construction in just a few short months, which would not have been possible without the support and hard work of countless state and local officials. Today we dedicate this site to the many people and agencies that helped make it happen, both public and private,” said Rob Gillette, CEO of First Solar. “The U.S. is our fastest-growing market, and the additional production capacity from this factory will help us meet growing demand for clean, locally produced solar electricity.”
First Solar’s Mesa factory is expected to begin producing modules by the third quarter of 2012 and will employ approximately 600 full-time associates. First Solar is investing just over $300 million in the four-line factory, which will produce approximately 250 MW of thin-film modules per year.
Output from the new factory is expected to be used in the construction of First Solar’s 2,600MW North American project pipeline, which includes the 290MW Agua Caliente project, located in Yuma County, Arizona.
When fully operational in 2014, Agua Caliente could generate enough clean solar energy to serve the needs of about 100,000 average homes per year, displacing approximately 220,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide—the equivalent of taking about 40,000 cars off the road. Output from the Mesa factory is also expected to be used in First Solar’s California projects, including the 550MW Topaz project, 230MW Antelope Valley Solar Ranch One and the 550MW Desert Sunlight project.
Todd Spangler joined First Solar in February 2007 as the company’s Director of Manufacturing. In December 2008, he was promoted to Plant Manager of the Perrysburg, Ohio, campus. Prior to joining First Solar, he managed multiple plants and distribution centres for Lutron Electronics, the
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www.compoundsemiconductor.net August/September 2011 world’s leader in lighting controls.
Mike Koralewski has been with First Solar since August of 2006, leading the company’s global quality and product reliability initiatives. Prior to First Solar, he was employed by Dana Corporation for 10 years in a variety of quality functions throughout different business units.
SoloPower awarded $197 million by DOE
High-volume manufacturing CIGS solar module facilities in Oregon and California will increase availability of innovative thin film solar modules and provide more than 700 jobs.
SoloPower, a San Jose, California-based manufacturer of flexible CIGS thin film solar cells and modules has received a $197 million loan guarantee from the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Loan Programs Office.
The guarantee will support the construction and operation of three facilities that are expected to produce up to 400MW of state-of-the art thin film photovoltaic modules annually.
In addition to expanding its existing operation in San Jose, California, SoloPower will construct and operate two new facilities in Portland, Oregon. Together, these facilities will provide 450 permanent jobs, 270 construction jobs and several hundred additional supply chain jobs.
“SoloPower is bringing exactly the kind of new jobs Oregon needs,” said Governor John Kitzhaber. “Working with SoloPower to bring their manufacturing headquarters to Portland, we are continuing on the path of supporting a strong clean technology manufacturing base in Oregon.”
SoloPower uses innovative manufacturing technology to produce low-cost, high efficiency CIGS based photovoltaic cells. The CIGS cells are then packaged into unique, flexible, lightweight solar modules. The modules require less balance- of-system hardware and are easier to install than traditional solar panels.
“This loan guarantee from the DOE is the kind of
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