Chinese Solar Firm Sets up Shop in Rockford, Illinois
Wednesday, August 18th 2010 12:00 PM
By GetSolar Staff.
With the help of Bedford, Massachusetts solar equipment manufacturer Spire Corporation, Wanxiang Solar has finished building a new solar panel plant in Rockford, Illinois. Despite some tension over Chinese competition and the difficulties that some American firms face on Chinese soil, there's still plenty of room for collaborative, mutually beneficial efforts by U.S.- and China-based renewable energy firms.
The new, 40,000-square-foot plant will employ 60 local workers to produce solar photovoltaic modules using Spire's patented turnkey manufacturing lines.
"This factory shows the growth of solar manufacturing in the United States, especially as it relates to foreign manufacturers locating production facilities here in the U.S. The Wanxiang factory will create local jobs to help stimulate the U.S. economy, supporting the growth of the PV industry in the U.S," said Spire chief executive officer Roger Little in a press release.
Wanxiang has a long history in the U.S., with its Wanxiang America division headquarters just south of Rockford in Chicago.
Factories tied to renewable energy, hope many in both the private and public sector, will help restore the moribund manufacturing economies of rust belt cities in Michigan, Illinois, Indiana and other hard-hit former industrial centers. In addition, the construction of these new facilities will help auxiliary solar manufacturers, like Spire, in Massachusetts and other states.
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With the help of Bedford, Massachusetts solar equipment manufacturer 
