Suniva Inc., a U.S. manufacturer of monocrystalline silicon solar cells and modules, has announced that U.S. Commerce Secretary 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 an example of how public-private partnerships can help create and commercialize new technologies.
In his remarks at the Clean Energy 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 federal agencies, including the Department of Energy (DOE), [and from] the Export-Import Bank and Commerce, Suniva exported more than 90 percent of its product to Asia and Europe last year, while creating 150 new clean energy jobs in the United States,’ Locke said.
Subject to a DOE loan guarantee, Suniva is planning to hire 500 additional staff at a new manufacturing plant in Michigan. In addition, approximately 30% of the company's employees are military veterans, and many others were hired from shuttered automotive plants.
SOURCE: Suniva Inc.
