Suniva Inc., a US manufacturer of high-efficiency monocrystallinesilicon solar cells and modules, announced that the company has beenselected for the US Department of Energy Loan Guarantee Program underthe DOE’s Innovative Energy Efficiency, Renewable Energy and AdvancedTransmission and Distribution Technologies Solicitation.

Uponthe completion of the DOE’s due diligence and subject to the successfulnegotiation of the terms of a loan for approximately $141 million,Suniva plans to start the construction of a new manufacturing plant inSaginaw County, Michigan.

Building such a manufacturing plantcould create approximately 500 direct jobs at Suniva, while creating anadditional 2,000 indirect jobs for the Michigan economy according to the Michigan Economic Development Corporation. Suniva currently employs adiverse workforce—approximately a quarter of its employees are militaryveterans and many others were hired from shuttered automotive plants.

“The DOE’s acceptance of Suniva into the Loan Guarantee Program is verytimely and supports the shared vision of President Obama and Suniva insignificantly increasing the level of exports over the next five years,” said John Baumstark, chairman and CEO of Suniva.

“The loanguarantee is essential to our efforts in building a second manufacturing plant in Michigan as quickly as possible, creating new cleantech jobsfor Americans and supporting the economy by substantially increasing the number of solar cells and modules available for export.”

Theloan guarantee will enable Suniva to more than triple exports over thenext five years. Last year, Suniva exported more than 90 percent of itsproducts to Asia and Europe.

“Suniva exemplifies the innovativeforce behind the development of America’s leading-edge green technology, and it exports to the global marketplace,” said Fred P. Hochberg, Ex-Im Bank’s chairman and president. “Suniva exports products, not jobs.America will lead in exports when its businesses deliver value andinnovation, which will also drive job growth.”