Upon the completion of the DOE’s due diligence and subject to the successful negotiation of the terms of a loan for approximately $141m, Suniva plans to start the construction of a new manufacturing plant in Saginaw County, Michigan.
Building such a manufacturing plant could create approximately 500 direct jobs at Suniva, while creating an additional 2000 indirect jobs for the Michigan economy according to the Michigan Economic Development. Suniva currently employs a diverse workforce, approximately a quarter of its employees are military veterans and many others were hired from shuttered automotive plants.
John Baumstark, chairman and CEO of Suniva, said: “The DOE’s acceptance of Suniva into the Loan Guarantee Program is very timely and supports the shared vision of President Obama and Suniva in significantly increasing the level of exports over the next five years.
“The loan guarantee is essential to our efforts in building a second manufacturing plant in Michigan as quickly as possible, creating new cleantech jobs for Americans and supporting the economy by substantially increasing the number of solar cells and modules available for export.”
The company said that the loan guarantee will enable Suniva to more than triple exports over the next five years. Last year, Suniva exported more than 90% of its products to Asia and Europe.
