San Jose, CA-based ultrathin-film PV developer Solexant said Tuesday that it has chosen to build its first commercial-scale nanocrystal manufacturing facility in Gresham, OR. The 100MW 100,000 to 150,000-square-foot plant will be the largest nanotechnology manufacturing facility in the world and the state’s first thin film solar manufacturing space. Solexant said it plans to receive a $18.75 million Business Energy Tax Credit (BETC) and a $25 million SELP loan from the Oregon Department of Energy (ODOE), the largest loan amount in the 30-year history of the state’s energy loan program. The funding, alongside another $64 million in equity financing Solexant has raised to date, will enable it to build the new manufacturing line in 2011, as well as additional 100MW lines in the future. The new plant will employ up to 200 Oregonians.
Author: Thea Chard
Before joining Xconomy, Thea spent a year working as the editor of another startup, the hyperlocal Seattle neighborhood news site QueenAnneView.com. She holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Southern California, where she double-majored in print journalism and creative writing. While in college, Thea spent a semester studying in London and writing for the London bureau of the Los Angeles Times. Indulging in her passion for feature writing, she has covered a variety of topics ranging from the arts, to media, clean technology and breaking news. Before moving back to Seattle, Thea worked in new media development on two business radio shows, "Marketplace" and "Marketplace Money" by American Public Media. Her clips have appeared in the Los Angeles Times, the Santa Monica Daily Press, Seattle magazine and her college paper, the Daily Trojan. Thea is a native Seattleite who grew up in Magnolia, and now lives in Queen Anne.
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