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Apr-07-2008Evergreen Solar begins expansion to 80 megawatts at Mass. facility(topic overview)
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Evergreen Solar Inc., a Marlborough maker of solar-power products, is expected to announce today that it will double the size of its manufacturing facility at the former Fort Devens in Harvard and add about 350 new jobs as part of its ongoing expansion. The move, which helps position Massachusetts as a national hub for clean-energy industries, is the second phase of a growth plan that would more than triple Evergreen's workforce from its current 300 workers to about 1,000. Evergreen's decision to significantly bolster its presence in the state is a victory for Governor Deval Patrick's administration, which has vowed to make Massachusetts a leader in clean energy, such as wind and solar power. [1] In February, Evergreen raised $170 million for the expansion project by issuing shares on the public market. The money will fund both construction and equipment. Last month, the company held a job fair that attracted more than 600 people, about a third of whom will eventually be hired, said Evergreen's president and chief executive, Richard Feldt. Most of those positions will be production jobs, as well as some technician, engineering, and supervisory positions. In addition to wooing companies like Evergreen whose technologies produce no greenhouse gas emissions and could help the country reduce its dependence on foreign oil, administration officials recently launched a rebate program that makes it cheaper for businesses and homeowners to install solar panels. For Evergreen, a public company founded in 1994, the state's commitment to solar power played a key role in its decision to expand in Massachusetts, Feldt said. Before Patrick took office, Evergreen was considering building its first U.S. manufacturing facility in a state such as Oregon or New Mexico that offers hefty incentives to clean energy companies, Feldt said. During his gubernatorial campaign, Patrick visited Evergreen's Marlborough headquarters to try to persuade it to construct its plant in Massachusetts, according to Feldt.[1]
" The vision for broad scale solar adoption through Governor Patrick ' s innovative Commonwealth Solar incentive program plan for clean energy jobs as well as the financial incentive package that the Governor and the Legislature provided Evergreen were key to our decision to put our first major manufacturing facility in Massachusetts[2]
Evergreen Solar to double plant's size, add 350 jobs Boston Globe Evergreen Solar Inc., a Marlborough maker of solar-power products, is expected to announce today that it will double the size of its manufacturing facility at the former Fort Devens in Harvard and add about 350 new jobs as part of its ongoing expansion.[1] B OSTON - A Marlborough-based company that makes solar panels plans to double the size of a manufacturing facility being built at the former Fort Devens. Evergreen Solar also plans to more than triple its 300-person work force to 1,000 workers.[3] BOSTON (AP) - A Massachusetts company that makes products for the solar power industry plans to double the size of a manufacturing facility being built at the former Fort Devens.[4]
BOSTON, Apr. 7, 2008 (Thomson Financial delivered by Newstex) -- Shares of Evergreen Solar (OOTC:ESLRW) (NASDAQ:ESLR) Inc. rose in premarket trading Monday after the Marlboro, Mass. -based solar power (OTCBB:SOPW) products manufacturer announced the beginning of an 80 megawatts expansion of its Devens, Massachusetts, facility.[5] NEW YORK, April 7 (Reuters) - Solar power products maker Evergreen Solar Inc (ESLR.O: Quote, Profile, Research ) said on Monday it had begun an expansion to double the capacity of its Devens, Massachusetts, plant to 160 megawatts by the end of 2009.[6]
Patrick and Feldt will make the announcement from Deer Island, site of a Massachusetts Water Resources Authority water treatment plant, which recently installed Evergreen Solar-made solar panels. The panels, as well as the addition of two 190-foot wind turbines to the plant that Patrick will also announce today, are expected to save the MWRA $116,500 per year out of its current $12.5 million electricity budget. Both energy initiatives were brought on as a result of Patrick's April 2007 executive order, mandating that the state receive 15 percent of its power from renewable sources by 2015 and 30 percent by 2030.[7] The governor is expected to make the expansion announcement along with Evergreen Solar CEO Richard Feldt, who opted to locate in Massachusetts last year based in part on a $44 million financing package offered by the administration and Patrick's commitment to expand solar energy use throughout the state.[7]
The Massachusetts Water Resources Authority water treatment plant there uses Evergreen solar panels, and the facility will soon add two 190-foot wind turbines. The conservation steps are expected to save the authority about 120,000 on its 12.5 million annual electric bill.[3]
Last year, Evergreen selected the former Fort Devens for a solar panel factory that would generate about 350 jobs. That plant, funded in part by a $44 million state incentive package, will open this summer.[1]
Literally. Evergreen Solar Inc., the Marlborough-based employer of more than 300 workers, plans to double the size of a manufacturing plant it is building in Devens and triple to 1,000 its work force.[7] Evergreen Solar, Inc. develops, manufactures and markets solar power products using proprietary, low-cost manufacturing technologies.[2] Evergreen Solar ' s products provide reliable and environmentally clean electric power for residential and commercial applications globally.[2]
The New England Clean Energy Council calls clean energy Massachusetts's 10th largest sector, with 14,500 jobs and a 20 annual growth rate. Patrick's Evergreen Solar announcement comes on the heels of his recent announcement that the life sciences company Organogenesis would be expanding its Canton-based headquarters.[7] Gov. Deval Patrick planned to join representatives of Marlborough-based Evergreen Solar on Monday for the announcement, which is expected to create an additional 350 jobs at the company.[4]
"Evergreen Solar is at the leading edge of our clean energy economy in Massachusetts," said Governor Deval Patrick.[2]
The Patrick administration has been pushing to create so-called "green jobs" by making Massachusetts a leader in the renewable energy field. Evergreen selected the former army base as the site for its first U.S. manufacturing facility last year.[4] Greatpoint Energy, a Cambridge company that specializes in coal and natural gas conversion technology, is building a pilot facility in Somerset. Ian Bowles, Patrick's secretary of energy and environmental affairs, called these projects "evidence of the momentum that Governor Patrick is building for the clean-energy industry." "These are a series of commitments and initiatives that are really meant to take aggressive steps to put Massachusetts at the forefront of this growth in the clean-energy industry," he said.[1]
MARLBORO, Mass.--( BUSINESS WIRE )--Evergreen Solar, Inc. (Nasdaq: ESLR), a manufacturer of solar power products with its proprietary, low-cost String Ribbon wafer technology, today announced the beginning of an 80 MW expansion of its Devens Massachusetts facility.[2]
After hitting a one-year high of $18.85 in December, the stock hit a one-year low of $7.52 in March. Shares of ESLR are trading higher this morning after the company announced it has started an expansion project to double the capacity of its Devens, Mass., plant to 160 megawatts by the end of next year.[8] As of Friday's $10.69 closing price, the shares have fallen 38% on the year. The company said phase one of its Devens site is on schedule to open by mid-2008 and begin its ramp up to 80 megawatts of production in 2009. 'We expect to complete phase two by early 2009 and it should be at its full 80 megawatts annual capacity by the end of 2009, bringing total site capacity to approximately 160 megawatts,' Evergreen said.[5]
" Phase 1 of our Devens site is on schedule to open by mid 2008 and begin its ramp up to 80 MW of production in 2009. We expect to complete Phase 2 by early 2009 and it should be at its full 80 MW annual capacity by the end of 2009, bringing total site capacity to approximately 160 MW, " said Richard M. Feldt, Evergreen Solar ' s chairman, president and chief executive officer.[2]
Evergreen Solar to boost size of Devens project - Norwood, MA - The Daily News Transcript Your browser either has JavaScript disabled, or does not support it.[7]
Feldt credits Patrick's emphasis on solar energy as the reason the company is expanding in Massachusetts. [3] "What really tipped the scales was the Patrick administration's focus on alternative energy," Feldt said. "Deval said he was going to create an environment that is solar-friendly, and that was really important to us, and he's really done that," Feldt added.[1] Even as his administration considers slashing spending to stave off a dire fiscal forecast, Gov. Deval Patrick is prepared to announce some sunnier economic news today.[7]
The MWRA will seek permission from the Federal Aviation Administration for three additional wind turbines by the end of 2009, as well as turbines at several other facilities. Other state wind projects include a planned turbine at Cape Cod Community College, as well as information-gathering about the energy-saving potential of wind turbines installed at the highest elevations of the Massachusetts Turnpike. State leaders are increasingly pinning their hopes for cost savings and financial windfalls on the success of renewable energy. [7] The governor's $1 billion life sciences initiative, heavily edited in the House and Senate, is before a conference committee. Critics of the governor's economic agenda have argued that its emphasis on life sciences and clean energy fails to consider the many Massachusetts residents without college degrees or who don't have the proper training to fill such specialized positions. Others have called for a more broad-based economic expansion, without the heavy focus on specialized industries.[7] House Speaker Salvatore DiMasi, who has already helped shepherd an omnibus clean energy bill through the Legislature, recently proposed a $50 million Green Jobs initiative to invest in start-up energy companies and fund research at local colleges and universities.[7] "The expansion announced today demonstrates what we can accomplish when the Commonwealth works with industry leaders to create markets, jobs, and opportunities in clean energy technology, for the benefit of our economy and our environment."[2]
The expansion being revealed today - to be financed entirely by private investment - will add 350 more jobs, as well as another 150,000 square feet to the 300,000-square-foot facility already under construction.[1]
The speaker estimated that the plan would create 13,000 new jobs and raise more than $50 million in new income taxes.[7]
The expansion, expected to be completed by the end of 2009, would also double the plant's energy production capability to 160 megawatts a year. [1]
SOURCES
1. Evergreen Solar to double plant's size, add 350 jobs - The Boston Globe
2. Evergreen Solar Begins Expansion of Its Manufacturing Facility in Devens Massachusetts
3. Solar manufacturer announces Massachusetts expansion - BostonHerald.com
4. Eyewitness News WPRI / FOX Providence - Providence, Rhode Island News, Weather, Traffic and Sports | Solar energy company plans to double size of Mass. facility
5. Evergreen Solar begins expansion to 80 megawatts at Mass. facility
6. Evergreen Solar to expand Massachusetts plant | Markets | Markets News | Reuters
7. Evergreen Solar to boost size of Devens project - Norwood, MA - The Daily News Transcript
8. Evergreen Solar (ESLR) NewsBite - ESLR Jumps on Plant Expansion
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