This is in addition to $4m grant that the project received earlier from the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act Community Renewable Energy Program.
The project, which is expected to generate enough electricity to power over 10,000 homes and cut carbon dioxide emissions at a rate of 113,000 tons annually, will help electricity suppliers meet the required 0.5% solar target by 2012.
The company has already begun production at the newly constructed flagship manufacturing facility located in the Rockford Global Trade Park. The facility is designed for expansion on the 10-acre Wanxiang campus.
The Wanxiang solar panel plant will supply PV solar panels for the Rockford solar project, which will generate jobs in construction, installation and servicing and additional jobs in the sale and marketing of green power.
Wanxiang America president Pin Ni said that the company appreciates the state and city governments to support the solar business.
“Our goal is to expand the plant threefold to meet the demand of Illinois’s new solar energy mandate,” Ni said.
