The Washington StateDepartment of Commerce and Port of Bellingham announced that Silfab Solar hadcommitted to expanding its current operations on the Bellingham waterfront andprovided a US$250,000 economic development grant to support the ramp and garnerbetween 20 to 40 new jobs.
Image: Washington StateDept of Commerce North American PV module manufacturer, Silfab Solar isinvesting around US$4 million to boost production at its assembly plant inWashington State that could lead to extra jobs. The Washington State Departmentof Commerce and Port of Bellingham announced that Silfab Solar had committed toexpanding its current operations on the Bellingham waterfront and provided aUS$250,000 economic development grant to support the ramp and garner between 20to 40 new jobs.
“Clean electricity is thefoundation of Washington’s clean energy economy,” said Gov. Jay Inslee. “Silfab’s leadership will help us build the cleanest energy grid in thenation and realize our goal of 100% clean electricity by 2045.” “Silfab remains committed to ongoing investments to improve productinnovation and increase our footprint of quality manufacturing within the U.S.,” said Paolo Maccario, CEO Silfab Solar. “Silfabsupplies some of the best solar companies in the United States. This supportfrom the state of Washington and Port of Bellingham will further increaseSilfab’s solar production to deliver premium U.S.-madesolar modules to meet our partners’ growing demand.”
In late 2019, Silfab Solarhad installed a full-size industrial production tool for the manufacturing ofback-contact PV modules from Eurotron at the Bellingham facility to be able tofabricate both full-size back contact modules as well as half-cell modules. TheUS received a boost in manufacturing jobs in 2019, primarily from large moduleassembly plants starting production, which included First Solar, JinkoSolar andHanwha Q CELLS (Korea). Q CELLS plant in Dalton, Georgia at 1.7GW is the currentlythe largest in the US, responsible for most of the 30% increase in solar jobsin the state last year, according to new figures released by the SolarFoundation. The US received a boost in manufacturing jobs in 2019, primarilyfrom large module assembly plants starting production, which included FirstSolar, JinkoSolar and Hanwha Q CELLS (Korea). Q CELLS plant in Dalton, Georgiaat 1.7GW is the currently the largest in the US, responsible for most of the30% increase in solar jobs in the state last year, according to new figuresreleased by The Solar Foundation. However, a second First Solar plant is toopen in 2020, enabling the CdTe thin film panel maker to become the largestmanufacturer in the US.
