Suniva to Expand Solar Cell Facility with Stimulus Tax Credit
Suniva®, Inc., a U.S. based high-efficiency solar manufacturer, has received $5.7 million in Recovery Act Advanced Manufacturing Tax Credits to expand its solar cell manufacturing facility in Norcross, Ga.
Suniva started producing monocrystalline solar cells at its Norcross facility in October 2008 and now operates two solar cell production lines with an annual capacity of 100 MW. Currently, Suniva is preparing to construct its third manufacturing line in Norcross, which will increase production capacity by 75 percent and create more than 50 manufacturing jobs in 2010.
“In little more than a year, Suniva built the capacity to produce hundreds of millions of dollars worth of solar technology, and we’ve created over 130 green jobs in the process,” said Suniva Chief Executive Officer John Baumstark. “These tax credits enable us to continue expanding and supplying the rapidly growing American solar market with products developed in American laboratories and made by American workers.”
Suniva’s technology was developed through research conducted by Suniva founder and Chief Technology Officer Ajeet Rohatgi, Ph.D., at the University Center for Excellence in Photovoltaics (UCEP), a U.S. Department of Energy-funded laboratory. Suniva’s solar cells and modules are installed globally in solar systems in the United States, Europe and Asia, including India’s first large-scale solar project located in West Bengal.