"SolarWorld plans $27M in upgrades to Hillsboro factory"
SolarWorld on Monday said it plans to invest $27 million in its Hillsboro factory with upgrades aimed at improving the performance of its solar panels. The new investment will push SolarWorld's total investment in Oregon past $600 million, and marks the fifth anniversary since the German solar panel-maker turned a vacated semiconductor plant into North America's biggest solar panel manufacturing plant.
Courtesy, Sustainable Business Oregon. Aerial view of SolarWorld's Hillsboro solar factory.
SolarWorld on Monday said it plans to invest $27 million in its Hillsboro factory with upgrades aimed at improving the performance of its solar panels.
The new investment will push SolarWorld's total investment in Oregon past $600 million, and marks the fifth anniversary since the German solar panel-maker turned a vacated semiconductor plant into North America's biggest solar panel manufacturing plant.
The work underway will continue through the first quarter of 2013. It involves installing three technology advancements developed by SolarWorld researchers in Germany and Oregon designed to increase the power output of SolarWorld's photovoltaic cells. The company didn't identify the specific upgrades, citing competitive pressure.
SolarWorld began renovating the idled 480,000-square-foot former Komatsu chip plant in August 2007. Then in 2009 it built a new 210,000-square-foot panel-assembly factory and logistics center, followed by another 40,000-square-foot building in 2010. It now occupies 750,000-square-feet of buildings on 103 acres and employs above 1,000 workers.
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