Today the Administration announced that the DOE agreed to guarantee large loans for two separate solar power equipment makers, Abengoa Solar and Abound Solar Manufacturing.

The Abengoa project involves using a $1.45 billion loan to build a 250 MW concentrating solar facility in Solana, Ariz.

“Abengoa Solar estimates that the Solana project will employ approximately 1,600 workers during the construction phase of the project and create over 80 skilled permanent jobs for the plant’s operation. Over 70 percent of the components and products used for Solana will be made in the United States. Two assembly factories will be constructed on the Solana site, and as a result of Solana’s large need for mirrors (over 900,000), a new mirror manufacturing facility will be sited just outside of the Phoenix area, contributing additional direct investment and adding more jobs to Arizona’s economy.

The Abound Solar $400 million loan will accelerate the first manufacturing of cadmium-telluride thin-film solar panels. The panels will be made in Longmont, Colo. and the other in Tipton, Ind. The company says it is aiming for a 840 MW production level per year. The CdTe technology is the result of work done by Colorado State University, NREL and NSF.

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