SunPower Corp. has partnered with Flextronics to begin manufacturing solar panels in Milpitas, Calif., by the end of this year.
The SunPower and Flextronics partnership is expected to create approximately 100 new jobs this year, and produce 75 MW of SunPower solar panels annually, the companies state. The West Coast location will allow SunPower to quickly and cost-effectively supply SunPower panels to solar installations at homes, commercial and public facilities, and power plants throughout the Western U.S.
Establishing a U.S. manufacturing facility is a direct result of SunPower's three-year agreement with the U.S. Department of Energy under the Solar Energy Technologies Program. Under the agreement, which was initiated in 2007, SunPower may receive up to $24 million of federal funding to implement improvements across the value chain that reduce solar system costs through improvements in the design and manufacture of integrated solar power systems.
SOURCE: SunPower Corp.
