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Sanyo Solar of Oregon brings proprietary solar technology and jobs to Oregon
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Sanyo's panels capture sunlight from top and bottom of panels
Sanyo Electric, a Global 500 company, has made an $80 million investment on 19.77 acres in Salem’s
Renewable Energy and Technology Park. They have just completed construction of phase I of a 130,000 square foot plant for the manufacturing of silicon ingot and solar wafers. The ribbon cutting ceremony for Phase I was held yesterday.
Phase II of the construction project will be completed next year. Sanyo Solar of Oregon has already hired 100 employees, and expected to hire an additional 100 employees in April 2010, to staff the plant, at an average salary of $22 per hour.
The state of Oregon leads the country in green technology employment opportunities. With the opening of Sanyo Solar of Oregon, scheduled for December 1, 2009, the total number of people who will be employed in this green state will total 51,000 people at 5,000 companies.
SANYO first started researching and developing amorphous solar cells in 1975 and was the world’s first to commercialize amorphous-type solar cell production in 1980. SANYO currently manufactures silicon ingot and wafers in the U.S., the solar cells in Japan, with module assembly plants located in Mexico, Hungary and Japan.
Sanyo selected Oregon because Oregon’s workforce includes workers with past experience in the semiconductor industry and they have skills SANYO needs for its solar cell plant. Oregon’s Business Energy Tax Credit was another positive incentive along with Oregon’s emphasis on attracting renewable energy industries with incentives that provide a tax credit for up to half of the energy facility’s cost.
Sanyo solar panels are among the most efficient at capturing sunlight for electricity. The company utilizes a hybrid of two solar technologies to produce panels that can be used in extreme heat, cloudy weather and capture sunlight from both the top and the bottom.
At the entrance to the new plant, black solar cells between two panes of glass cover the front walkway. Even on a dim, cloudy or rainy Oregon morning, the solar panels can collect sunshine from both sides, making them more efficient -- and more expensive -- than other brands.
"Sanyo is the only company that has this technology," said Robert Zerner, a business development executive based in San Jose, Calif. "No one else has a cell that can gather sunlight on the top and the bottom."
"Focusing our efforts on clean technology even during these economic times is the right strategy for Oregon," Gov. Ted Kulongoski said at Monday's opening ceremony. "We are now competing globally for companies deciding to locate in new places and create jobs." Salem’s Renewable Energy and Technology Park is actively looking to attract more manufacturing and high technology companies to build more facilities in the park.
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