Why Not Youngstown? Mansfield To Get Solar Plant And 1,000 Jobs

[jay]

I can't think of one councilman in Youngstown who is an alternative energy proponent.
Maybe that is why we don't get any of these forward looking projects in our community.

[irishbobcat]

By Tim Feran

The Columbus Dispatch
The Mansfield area could gain more than 1,000 permanent jobs as a result of a loan guarantee announced today that will allow an alternative-energy company to build a plant in the area.

The U.S. Department of Energy announced this afternoon that it is offering a $275 million loan guarantee to California-based alternative energy manufacturer Calisolar Inc. to expand its operations in Ontario, located just west of Mansfield in Richland County.

The manufacturer plans to build its new plant on the site of the former General Motors plant, creating nearly 1,100 permanent jobs and up to 1,000 construction jobs.

The plant will manufacture solar silicon from lower-cost metallurgical grade material that Calisolar then upgrades. Its process is said to be less expensive and more energy-efficient than traditional processes.

The manufacturing plant will be built in three phases. At full production, the plant is expected to produce 16,000 metric tons of solar silicon every year, equivalent to more than two gigawatts of solar power generation per year - enough to light up 800,000 homes.

The Department of Energy said construction must begin by Sept. 30 in order to qualify for the loan. The looming deadline - in addition to various other considerations springing from negotiations between Calisolar and local officials - makes it highly unlikely that the company would seek out another location for the plant, U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown said.

"The loan doesn't say specifically Mansfield," Brown said. "Nothing's inevitable, but this makes the probability much, much higher."

U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu said the plant was another step in keeping the nation competitive "in a global race to produce clean energy."

"Rather than sending billions overseas to obtain clean energy technology we should invest in inventions in America," Chu said.

The announcement was "incredibly important," Brown said. "We're hopeful this will cement Ohio as a national leader in clean energy. This is a critical step toward strengthening our economy."

The former General Motors plant was built in 1954 and employed as many as 3,600 people "as late as the 1980s," Brown said. "It's been a major, major employer for my whole life."

When GM closed the plant in June 2010 as part of its restructuring plan, citing difficulties in keeping it in the company's supply chain, it was seen as a devastating blow to Richland County.

The plant was then taken over by the federal government's administrative trust.

"Selling this plant is important, but creating jobs in this plant is, in my mind, even more important," Brown said.