Abound Solar, a manufacturer of cadmium telluride thin-film photovoltaic solar modules, has leased a 781,750 square-foot facility in Tipton, Ind., where it will be establishing a solar module manufacturing plant. The company says it was able to complete the transaction following the closing of a previously announced $400 million U.S. Department of Energy loan guarantee and $110 million equity investment.
The facility, located at the intersection of U.S. 31 and Ind. 28 and comprising 104 acres in total, has been purchased by an investment group led by the W.W. Reynolds Cos., a commercial real estate development firm based in Boulder, Colo., from the trust of contractors that has held the property since the 2009 bankruptcy of the former owner, Getrag Transmission Manufacturing LLC.
Abound Solar has entered into a long-term lease with W.W. Reynolds, which enables the company to make the necessary property improvements to facilitate the development of a solar module manufacturing plant with an annual capacity of 640 MW per year. Development of the site is expected to begin in 2012 and will bring over 1,000 full-time jobs to the area.
SOURCE: Abound Solar
