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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
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State Rep.
Ted Harhai State Rep.
Deberah Kula |
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Harhai, Kula announce $7.5 million in state funding for solar energy project
HARRISBURG, July 14 – State Reps. Ted Harhai and Deberah Kula, both D-Fayette/Westmoreland, today announced Solar Power Industries in Mount Pleasant will receive $7.5 million in matching grants and loans to manufacture solar technology systems.
Economic Growth Connection of Westmoreland County made the funding request on behalf of the company, which will be awarded a $937,500 matching grant and a $6.5 million loan. SPI will use the funding to build a 265,000-square-foot facility to produce solar energy products including silicon ingots, bricks, wafers, solar cells and modules. The site is currently home to Sony Corp., which will soon be vacating.
"This is really great news for the people of our area, and it's been a pleasure to work with Representative Kula to help bring it about," said Harhai. "The upgraded state-of-the-art facility in Mount Pleasant and the large number of jobs it will offer will compliment the Solar Power Industries plant we already have in Rostraver Township near the Rostraver Airport."
"The owners of SPI are looking to the state to help them anchor operations in our region," Kula said. "The business is clearly welcome as this project will create 375 jobs and retain 120 others, which is good news given the current economic climate."
Funding for the project is made possible through the Solar Energy Program, which provides funding to promote the use of alternative energy throughout the state. The program is administered jointly by the state Department of Community and Economic Development and the Department of Environmental Protection under the direction of the Commonwealth Financing Authority, an independent agency that evaluates and administers funding for projects that create jobs and invest in the state’s financial growth. To find out more about CFA programs, visit DCED online at www.newpa.com.