Solar manufacturing plant to open in Ore.
PORTLAND, Ore., July 6 (UPI) — California-based Solaicx is expanding its solar components manufacturing operations to Portland, Ore.
The company has leased a 136,000-square-foot facility in Portland’s Rivergate Industrial District, where the firm is expected to use the site to manufacture mono-crystalline silicon ingots and wafers for photovoltaic applications, CoStar Realty Information reported.
The Santa Clara, Calif.-based manufacturer will open the new plant later this summer at an initial cost of $52 million. Company officials say Solaicx plans to expand operations at the facility by the end of next year.
Solaicx is the second solar energy company to bring its manufacturing operations to Portland in the past six months. Germany-based SolarWorld Group recently selected Hillsboro, Ore., which is just west of the Portland, to construct what officials say is expected to become the nation’s largest solar production facility.
“We looked at the state of Oregon’s generous financial incentives for renewable energy and Portland’s deep base of skilled labor in silicon manufacturing, and decided that the port is an ideal place for our continued growth as a company,” said Jeff Jones, vice president of manufacturing for Solaicx.
Oregon’s selection by Solaicx and SolarWorld is due in part to a series of initiatives by the state to attract the clean energy sector through incentives and tax credits.
