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The Massachusetts Technology Collaborative is welcoming Evergreen Solar Inc. with open arms, but the big factory project is not seen as the start of a major expansion of the quasi-public agency's campus.

Marlborough-based Evergreen announced Tuesday it will build a $150 million solar-power products manufacturing plant on state-owned land in Westborough. The 13-acre parcel north of Rte. 9 and Oak Street where the factory would go will soon be conveyed to the nonprofit MTC and added to its adjacent 36-acre property. Evergreen would secure a "ground lease'' from the MTC, with favorable terms over 30 years as part of $44 million state-sponsored finance package.

"There's a fair amount of activity on the campus. With Evergreen that will obviously increase, which is good news,'' said Chris Kealey, the MTC's director of development and public affairs. "But this was never really designed as an industrial park.''

The Evergreen project will be the first major addition in nearly 20 years to the MTC's property, which is centered on scenic Powder Hill. Kopin Corp., a maker of small flat-panel displays for cameras and gun sights, and the only other big business on the campus, leases a 74,000-square-foot manufacturing building that was constructed in 1988.

The MTC's campus is part of the former Lyman School for Boys, a reform school that was established in 1847 and closed in 1971. The campus still has 10 buildings; some with historic value have been renovated, others, including an auditorium structure, await repairs, while a few others are in disrepair and scheduled for demolition.

The MTC's headquarters, with about 50 employees, is based in the George Kariotis Center, a three-story, brick building at 75 North Drive. The MTC also uses the Innovation Center, built in 1955, for meetings, while the Worcester Polytechnic Institute holds classes in the 1950s-era Karl Weiss Education and Conference Center.

Kealey said that, other than the Evergreen Solar project, the MTC has no major development plans on the horizon right now.

"I think this was somewhat of a unique opportunity here,'' he said yesterday. "We'd certainly be open to some additional possibilities, especially clean energy companies. That would be a good fit for us.''

The MTC, created by the Legislature in 1982 and led by executive director Mitchell Adams, invests funds in innovative companies and technologies. It manages the state's Renewable Energy Trust, a fund supported by a small fee on Massachusetts utility bills that is used to give grants for green energy projects. Kealey said the trust raised $24 million last year and distributed $44 million in grants.

The Westborough Board of Selectmen will conduct a site plan review of the Evergreen Solar project, according to Town Coordinator Henry Danis. He said early on there are only "some small issues'' to consider, mostly about whether to have the main traffic access to the Evergreen factory from North Drive via Milk Street (Rte. 135), or directly from Oak Street, which is closer to the site.

"It's in a good location,'' Danis said. "On many fronts, it's a tremendous benefit to the town. It's prestigious for the town of Westborough to get a corporation of this status.''

The Evergreen factory, which Kealey said may measure about 250,000 square feet, would generate an estimated $546,000 in annual property taxes for the town.

"We have a strong commercial base, but adding to it will only help with our revenues,'' Danis said.

The job creation range of 350 to 375 manufacturing positions is also seen as a major lift for MetroWest's labor market.

"This is a company that's bringing a lot of jobs to the region, so that's obviously great news for local businesses along Rte. 9 and for the town of Westborough,'' said Kealey.

(Greg turner can be reached at gturner@cnc.com or 508-626-3909.)