After months of much-heralded announcements about the new solar shingle manufacturing to take place in Midland, construction has started on the new Dow facility in which the shingles will be made.
Dow Chemical Company has started building its new manufacturing facility to produce
Dow Powerhouse Solar Shingles in Midland. The site is planned to begin production in late 2012, and will be at full production capacity by 2015.
"This new facility will increase production capacities of the Dow Powerhouse Solar Shingle and create advanced manufacturing jobs that are helping to make Michigan a 'green tech' hub of the new U.S. economy," says Earl Shipp, Dow vice president for Michigan Operations. "We're excited to add these jobs to our Michigan Operations facility and to contribute to the local Great Lakes Bay Region economic base."
In the next few years, the plant is expected to create 1,275 jobs in Midland. Right now, the solar shingles are being made at the existing, smaller pilot project plant in Midland, and those shingles will be part of the commercial launch of the product, scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2011.
In addition, about 300 people will be employed short-term during the construction of the new building.
Shipp says the successful beginnings of the new facility are due to collaboration and public-private partnerships between Dow, the State of Michigan and the City of Midland. The state's help came in the form of $141 million in incentives like tax credits.
The solar shingle combines solar cell technology with roofing shingles to generate solar energy through residential roofs. Its development was boosted by $20 million in funding from the U.S. Department of Energy in 2007. Since it was revealed in 2009, it's been named one of the "50 Best Inventions of 2009" by Time magazine, among other accolades.
Writer: Sam Eggleston
Source: Earl Shipp, Dow Chemical Company
Enjoy this story?
Sign up for free solutions-based reporting in your inbox each week.