Obama shines on solar power with $2B in new funding
The green sector has a reason to celebrate during a red, white and blue weekend. President Barack Obama used his weekly video address to announce $2 billion in stimulus funds for solar power companies. The plan is to employ thousands of people while making solar technology competitive with fossil fuel sources of energy.
The new funding will be split between Spain-based developer Abengoa Solar and Colorado-based panel maker Abound Solar in the form of low-interest loan guarantees (pledges that the money will be delivered when certain requirements and milestones are fulfilled).
Abengoa will receive $1.45 billion for construction of its Solana solar thermal development in Arizona. Its technology uses mirrored troughs to concentrate sunlight on a limited number of solar modules, lowering the costs of generation by saving on silicon and other pricey materials, while simultaneously boosting efficiency.
The company already has a power purchase agreement with regional utility APS — slated to serve 70,000 homes — and all the permits it needs to start building. This project alone is expected to create 1,600 new jobs. At 280 megawatts, Solana will be the world’s largest solar power plant when it’s brought online in 2013.
It will also be the first facility in the U.S. to store some of the energy produced. This is a big deal, considering that one of the biggest hurdles standing between solar and broader adoption is that it is intermittent. If plants can store up solar power that is generated but not in demand, then it can be made more reliable — and cheaper.
It sounds strange for the U.S. to be shelling out so much to a European company, but Abengoa has agreed to buy the bulk of its components from domestic suppliers. This should generate even more American jobs, Obama says.
The other $400 million loan guarantee went to Abound, which manufactures thin-film solar panels. It will use the money to construct two new plants, dramatically upping its capacity, and adding on 2,000 temporary and 1,500 permanent jobs in Colorado and Indiana.
On top of that, the new Indiana facility will convert an old Chrysler factory — yet another example of antiquated automotive infrastructure being used for green purposes. Just last week, hybrid vehicle maker Fisker Automotive got approval to turn a defunct General Motors plant into a manufacturing facility.
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