News

7 July 2010

 

DOE offers Abound Solar conditional commitment for $400m loan guarantee

The US Department of Energy (DOE) has offered Abound Solar of Loveland, CO, USA a conditional commitment for a $400m, seven-year loan guarantee to expand its cadmium telluride (CdTe) thin-film photovoltaic (PV) solar module manufacturing capabilities.

Abound aims to use the funds to increase module production at its existing manufacturing plant and to establish a second plant that should create more than 1200 jobs in Colorado and Indiana, while driving down the cost of solar power for USA and international customers.

Since being founded in 2007, Abound has raised about $200m in venture capital and private equity, built its first production line in Longmont, CO and begun full-scale commercial operations last November. The firm anticipates using $100m of the loan proceeds to increase the capacity of its existing Longmont facility to 200MW per year by the end of 2011. It plans to invest the balance of the loan to support construction of a larger manufacturing facility in Tipton, IN. When both plants are complete, annual module production capacity will be more than 840MW.

“The DOE loan guarantee program is essential to helping companies like Abound Solar scale-up innovations in photovoltaic manufacturing that are critical to reducing the cost of alternative energy,” says the firm’s president & CEO Tom Tiller. “When Abound opened its first manufacturing plant in 2009, we committed to providing high-performing, lower-cost modules to our customers; DOE is helping us keep that promise. The proceeds of this loan will build on the momentum we have already established and confidently expand our operations,” he adds.

“The company received broad support of its [loan] application from customers, suppliers, and political representatives,” says chief financial officer Steve Abely. “State and local representatives from both Colorado and Indiana were particularly instrumental in our efforts to secure the loan guarantee to create more high-paying jobs in America.”

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Visit: www.abound.com