Solar panel manufacturer Amonix will create a total of 436 clean energy manufacturing jobs in Nevada and Arizona based on its award of $9.5 million in stimulus funding as part of the federal Recovery Act’s Advanced Energy Manufacturing Tax Credit. The company was granted $5.9 million for manufacturing work in Nevada, and $3.6 million for work in Arizona.
Amonix, headquartered in Seal Beach, California, designs and manufactures concentrated photovoltaic (CPV) solar power systems that require less water, use land better, and produce more energy per acre than any other solar technology. The stimulus funding will be used to expand permanent manufacturing operations in Nevada and Arizona.
The company will begin construction of its new manufacturing facility in Nevada by the end of 2010. When completed in the first half of 2011, that facility will create 269 new jobs for the state. The Arizona facility, which will create 167 new jobs, is pegged for a 2011 construction start, with completion scheduled by the end of that year.
Congresswoman Shelley Berkley of Nevada, who voted in favor of the Recovery Act, commented on the stimulus funding, “This funding will be used to create Nevada jobs involved in the manufacturing of highly efficient solar panels that increase the amount of clean energy that can be harnessed from every ray of sunshine. We are working to make Nevada a world leader in the use and production of solar energy and this $5.9 million awarded to Amonix under the Recovery Act will soon mean green job creation right here in the Silver State.”
Congressman Ed Pastor of Arizona, who was a supporter of the Recovery Act, said, "This grant to Amonix brings 176 new clean energy jobs to Arizona through the Federal Recovery Act’s Advanced Energy Manufacturing Tax Credit. It also underscores that Arizona is a great place to expand business in the new economy.”
Congresswoman Dina Titus of Nevada, who also supported the Recovery Act, said: “I have long believed that the key to diversifying our economy and creating jobs in Southern Nevada is to invest in clean energy, which is why I am so pleased that Amonix has received nearly $6 million in Recovery Act funding to build a new manufacturing facility in Southern Nevada. Our state has enormous potential to lead the nation in the manufacturing and generation of solar energy, and funding from the Recovery Act will help us take an important step toward this goal that will create jobs and put Nevadans back to work.”
According to Brian Robertson, CEO of Amonix, “We’re pleased and honored to have received an allocation under the tax credit program, and we will move quickly to expedite the creation of these 436 green jobs for the new economy. This meaningful federal program will have near-term a positive impact upon the Nevada and Arizona economies.”
Amonix will use the funds to manufacture low-cost solar electricity systems using Fresnel lenses that concentrate sunlight. The systems generate solar electric power by concentrating light 500 times onto small, high efficiency solar cells.
The project is being funded through the federal Recovery Act’s Advanced Energy Manufacturing Tax Credit. These stimulus tax credits are focused on creating renewable energy projects, including the manufacture of solar cells.
The investment tax credits, worth up to 30 percent of each planned project, will leverage private capital for a total investment of nearly $7.7 billion in high-tech manufacturing in the United States.
About Amonix:
Amonix designs and manufactures concentrated photovoltaic (CPV) solar power systems that require less water, use land better, and produce more energy per acre than any other solar technology. With the longest track record of real-world CPV deployments in the industry, Amonix is proven and bankable – the best choice for solar power systems in hot and dry climates. Amonix is headquartered in Seal Beach, California. with expanded manufacturing facilities planned for Nevada and Arizona.