Solar panel manufacturer may open in Tipton County two years earlier than

by Ken de la Bastide and Daniel Human, Kokomo Tribune Staff Writers

TIPTON - The Colorado solar panel manufacturer planning to move into the never-used transmission plant in Tipton County could come to Indiana about two years sooner than originally expected, company and county officials said Wednesday.

Abound Solar Inc. plans to close Nov. 16 on its purchase of the former Getrag Transmission LLC plant at the corner of U.S. 31 and Ind. 28, said company spokesman Mark Chen.

The company originally planned to have created 850 jobs by 2013, but hiring could now begin as soon as late 2011, Chen said.

The solar panel manufacturer is moving forward with its plans more quickly to keep up with the increasing number of orders it is receiving, Chen said.

Abound hasn't finished mapping out how many of the 850 jobs it would initially create or when operations would begin in Tipton, he said.

President Barack Obama announced in July that Abound Solar would receive a $400 million loan guarantee from the U.S. Department of Energy to expand its operations in Colorado, then purchase the never-used, approximately 800,000-square-foot factory.

The company had one manufacturing line in place before the loan at its plant in Longmont, Colo.

The Department of Energy will give Abound $50 million to put in a second line and another $50 million for a third in Longmont. The company will then receive $300 million to install eight lines in Tipton.

Tipton County Commissioner Jane Harper said Abound exercised its option to purchase the building from a trust established in 2009 by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Michigan after Getrag filed for bankruptcy protection.

The company has entered into a binding agreement with the trust, Harper said.

Abound is purchasing the building from the trust for $25 million with Tipton County providing $13 million through Tax Increment Financing to lower the purchase price, she said.

The proceeds of the sale will go to contractors who were not paid for work done when Getrag filed for bankruptcy.

"This is the best deal for Tipton County," Harper said of Abound purchasing the facility. "It fits best with the community and our green technology.

"With our predominant agricultural base, the establishment of Abound Solar at the crossroads of our community and three wind-energy companies with plans to place wind farms in our county, we can create a unique marketing opportunity in selling Tipton County and its products as the 'green' capital," she said.

The Indiana Economic Development Corp. offered Abound Solar Inc. up to $11.85 million in performance-based tax credits and $250,000 in training grants based on the company's job creation plans. The IEDC will also provide work force and ombudsperson assistance.

Tipton County has approved additional incentives, including tax abatements for the company along with TIF money to the trust that owns the building.

The Getrag plant was being constructed as a joint venture between Chrysler and Germany-based Getrag. The plant was expected to provide more than 1,000 jobs. But soon before construction ended in 2008, Chrysler pulled out of the agreement and filed a lawsuit against Getrag. Getrag then filed for bankruptcy and backed out of the project, leaving the plant empty since.

This article brought to by Indiana Renewable Energy Association.