Posted by Ed on September 14, 2007, 7:04 pm Bulldozers and surveyors have been working at Evergreen's construction site on Barnum Road for about a week, but everything stopped for the ground-breaking. It's seemingly the only slow-down the project has seen so far. Marlboro-based Evergreen announced plans to build a new facility in April, and has already designed it and finished the permitting process. "It's definitely quick," said state Environmental Affairs Secretary Ian A. Bowles. "We went from announcing the deal to ground-breaking in five months which is speedy by any standard." Founded in 1994, Evergreen uses proprietary crystalline technology, called String Ribbon, to make wafers for solar products. Applications for the company's solar cells and systems include highway call boxes, microwave stations, street and billboard lighting and off-grid rural electrification. "It's really very revolutionary," Feldt said. "We believe it will give us an opportunity to substantially increase factory yields, cell efficiency and reduce overall factory costs, again with this goal of making solar compatible with prices of grid-supplied electricity." Early during the expansion plans, Evergreen decided the 14-acre site it planned to build on in Westboro presented topographical problems. It then shifted plans to the 22-acre site at Devens. Evergreen plans to employ 350 workers at the Devens plant, doubling its corporate work force. The company, which is publicly-traded, reported 2006 revenues of $103.2 million -- more than double its 2005 total. Gov. Deval Patrick and his administration outmaneuvered other states for the new facility, Feldt said. The administration convinced Evergreen it's committed to putting Massachusetts at the forefront of solar technology in production and installation plus came up with financial packages, he said. The support program provided by the state includes $23 million in grants, up to $17.5 million in low-interest loans and a low-cost, 30-year lease of state-owned property in Devens.
24.34.144.49
Evergreen shines in Devens Solar products maker expects to bring 350 workers to Barnum Road plant
By Jack Minch, jminch@lowellsun.com
Lowell Sun
Article Last Updated:09/14/2007 11:57:14 AM EDT
DEVENS -- Evergreen Solar's new $165 million facility is expected to be completed by next summer and reach full capacity by Christmas 2008, President and Chief Executive Officer Richard M. Feldt said during Wednesday's official ground-breaking.
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