Commerce Secretary Visits Suniva
Solar Industry
Suniva Inc., a U.S. manufacturer of monocrystalline silicon solar cellsand modules, has announced that U.S. CommerceSecretary Gary Locke received a private tour of the company’s manufacturing facility in Norcross, Ga., last week.
The visit followed Locke’s attendance at a regional innovation forum at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta. He touted Suniva as anexample of how public-private partnerships can help create andcommercialize new technologies.
In his remarks at the CleanEnergy Forum, Locke outlined the importance of the clean energy industry and U.S. innovation to jobs, the economy and national security.
"With a great product, a great workforce and help from federalagencies, including the Department of Energy (DOE), [and from] theExport-Import Bank and Commerce, Suniva exported more than 90 percent of its product to Asia and Europe last year, while creating 150 new cleanenergy jobs in the United States," Locke said.
Subject to a DOEloan guarantee, Suniva is planning to hire 500 additional staff at a new manufacturing plant in Michigan. In addition, approximately 30% of thecompany’s employees are military veterans, and many others were hiredfrom shuttered automotive plants.
SOURCE: Suniva Inc.
