09/04/2009 GAAS:506:09 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Print Version |

Gov. Schwarzenegger Joins Vice President Biden in Announcing Thousands of Jobs to be Created Through $535 Million Federal Loan for Solar Manufacturing in Fremont

California Company First-in-the-Nation to Receive Loan Guarantee Available Through President Obama's Recovery and Reinvestment Act

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger today joined U.S. Vice President Joe Biden and U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Steven Chu to make a bipartisan announcement that the U.S. Department of Energy has finalized a $535 million loan guarantee for Fremont company Solyndra Inc, which manufactures cylindrical solar photovoltaic panels. The federal funding will finance construction of the first phase of the Solyndra's new manufacturing facility - which the company estimates will create 3,000 construction jobs, eventually employ approximately 1,000 direct and indirect workers and provide enough clean renewable energy to power 24,000 homes a year through the first phase of annual solar production. Solyndra is the first-in-the-nation recipient of such a loan guarantee available under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (Recovery Act) and Title XVII of the Energy Policy Act of 2005.

"We have adopted policies in California that have driven demand for solar and other renewable technologies, and our businesses and entrepreneurs are rising to the challenge," said Governor Schwarzenegger. "Projects like this are exactly why I supported President Obama's Recovery Act - because this funding will create thousands of jobs, stimulate our economy and move us closer to our clean energy goals. I know this city is still stinging from recent NUMMI facility news, and that is why I'm especially proud that this groundbreaking project will create jobs right here in Fremont."

Following his letter to legislative leadership, at today's event Governor Schwarzenegger also called on the California legislature to pass Assembly Bill 1111 by Assembly Republican Leader Sam Blakeslee (R-San Luis Obispo). The measure would exempt manufacturing equipment for eligible clean technology companies like Solyndra from sales tax. This bill is also a critical tool in incentivizing a new green company to occupy the Fremont NUMMI plant, which is scheduled for closure in March 2010 and expected to lay-off over 4,000 workers. This bill is yet another example of the Governor's commitment to economic development and environmental protection - an innovative combination of job creation and groundbreaking clean energy policy.

"In these tough economic times what we need are jobs, jobs, jobs and I call on our legislature to pass AB 1111 to provide a tax incentive for clean-tech manufacturers to locate in California," said the Governor. "This tax incentive will help attract more companies like Solyndra to California and will be a critical tool in bringing a new company into the NUMMI facility - helping keep more jobs in California and right here in Fremont."

Under the leadership of Governor Schwarzenegger, California has embarked on some of the most ambitious clean energy policies in the world. Not only are these policies moving the Golden State toward energy independence, a cleaner environment and influencing the national energy agenda - but they are growing California's green economy. California has the largest green economy in America with $6.5 billion in venture capital investment in the last three years and is more energy efficient than the rest of the country. Highlights of some of the Governor's most significant actions on clean energy include:

Governor Schwarzenegger spearheaded the largest-ever solar expansion in U.S. history, which has spurred more than $5 billion worth of private investment by California consumers. In 2004, the Governor introduced the Million Solar Roofs Initiative, now known as the California Solar Initiative (CSI), which included $2.9 billion in incentives to homeowners and building owners who install solar electric systems. In 2006 the Governor signed legislation implementing the final portions of the Million Solar Roofs plan.
In 2008, Governor Schwarzenegger committed to increasing California's already ambitious renewable portfolio standard (RPS) to a nation-leading 33 percent by 2020. In 2004, Governor Schwarzenegger called on utilities to acquire 20 percent of the power used within the state from renewable sources by 2010, and in 2008 he increased that goal to 33 percent renewable power by 2020 with Executive Order S-14-08.
- If California implemented this standard, state manufacturing employment could increase by almost 200,000 and pump as much as $60 billion into the state's economy, according to a 2008 report by the Center for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Technologies.
On August 31, 2009, Governor Schwarzenegger announced the creation of the largest state-sponsored green jobs training program in the nation - the $75 million Clean Energy Workforce Training Program (CEWTP). The program leverages federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (Recovery Act) funds, public-private partnerships and state and local funding, to train more than 20,000 new or re-skilled clean energy workers to build a workforce capable of performing the jobs necessary to meet the state's goals of renewable energy development, climate change reduction, clean transportation and green building construction for a new green economy.