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Evergreen Solar will open big plant in Westboro
Worcester Telegram & Gazette
By Lisa Eckelbecker, Telegram & Gazette Staff | April 17, 2007

MARLBORO— Evergreen Solar Inc., a manufacturer of solar power products, said today it plans to build a $150 million manufacturing plant in Westboro.

Under the expansion, set for the campus of the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative, Evergreen Solar's work force in Massachusetts would double to more than 600 people.

The company reported in a news release that several states competed for the plant but that Evergreen Solar decided to build in Massachusetts because of Gov. Deval L. Patrick's solar incentive program and public financial incentives that include up to $23 million in state grants, up to $17.5 million in low-interest loans and a low-cost 30-year lease of land.

Construction is expected to start in the fall, with completion in late 2008. Evergreen Solar already has a manufacturing plant in Marlboro. Under a joint venture, it also operates a plant in Germany.

In separate announcements today, Evergreen Solar reported new agreements with a raw materials supplier and NSTAR, an electricity and natural gas distributor. The company also posted a first-quarter loss of $6.2 million, or 9 cent per share, on revenue of $14.1 million.