At the beginning of this year, the company hosted a tour from President
George W. Bush, who was headlining his administration's energy policy
blitz. This came under the backdrop of increased attention being paid to
solar thin-film companies whose technologies are insulated from the
silicon raw material shortage cramping the industry. Now comes news this
week of the company agreeing to open a new manufacturing facility in
Greenville, Michigan.
The site in Greenville is relatively close to the company's other
manufacturing facilities in Auburn Hills, where the President visited
earlier in the year. There's an existing 25 MW facility and a second 25 MW
facility expected to come online later this spring. All three facilities
are part of the company's expansion plans announced in February in which
the board of directors approved a plan to expand to 300 MW of yearly
production by 2010.
The company's solar modules, branded as Uni-Solar modules, offer some of
the higher efficiencies and cost-per-watt ratios found in thin film
offerings. Thin film, or amorphous PV, as opposed to traditional
crystalline silicon photovoltaics, do not rely on expensive silicon, which
as an essential raw material is in increasingly constrained supply,
leading to a worldwide shortage in traditional crystalline modules.
The Governor of Michigan, the state, and the Michigan Economic Development
Corporation (MEDC) played a very active part in courting the company as
Michigan has faced considerable job declines over the years -- any new
industry comes highly valued.
"Since the day Electrolux announced its closing, we have worked fervently
to bring new jobs for Greenville," Governor Jennifer M. Granholm said.
"The city's leadership and its outstanding workforce helped win United
Solar Ovonic's major new investment, adding another strong anchor for
Michigan's alternative energy industry."
State and local tax breaks helped United Solar choose Greenville over a
competing location in South Carolina. The MEDC approved a Single Business
Tax credit valued at $5.7 million over 20 years to win the company's
business. A $5 million federal Community Development Block Grant approved
by the MEDC and awarded to the city of Greenville will fund needed
infrastructure improvements to support the new plant. The city has
proposed a tax abatement valued at approximately $3.6 million over 12
years for the project. The MEDC and city are expected to support a
15-year, tax-free Renaissance Zone for the site, worth an additional $20.4
million to the company. With additional funding for training assistance,
the state and local incentive package totals approximately $37 million.
And more production is on the way. According to the MEDC, state and local
governments are also providing United Solar Ovonic with additional
incentives to invest up to an additional $600 million for up to five more
plants in Greenville and up to 1,000 new jobs.
