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The sunshine state: Mass. turns on juice to win solar plant
Boston Herald
By Jay Fitzgerald, Herald General Economics Reporter | April 18, 2007

Score one for Massachusetts.

After years of seeing companies expand operations elsewhere, a full-court press by Gov. Deval Patrick’s administration led to yesterday’s announcement that Evergreen Solar Inc. will build a new $150 million solar-panel manufacturing facility in its home state, creating more than 350 jobs in Westborough, officials said.

The Patrick administration - which has vowed to both promote the alternative-energy industry and to press local firms to expand in Massachusetts - boasted yesterday the state beat out North Carolina, New Mexico, New York, Oregon and Mexico to land the Evergreen expansion.

Massachusetts’ bid centered on a $44 million financial package that includes grants, low-interest loans and a 30-year lease of state land for the facility, expected to be open next year.

The Massachusetts Office of Business Development, Massachusetts Technology Collaborative, Citizens Bank and the Massachusetts Development Finance Agency all chipped in to help seal the deal, officials said yesterday.

“Several states aggressively pursued our planned new facility,” said Evergreen chief executive Richard M. Feldt.

But in the end, Feldt said, state and local officials’ promises were “key factors” in the company’s decision to expand in Massachusetts.

“I’ve said all along, if Massachusetts can get clean-energy technology right, the world will be our customer,” Patrick said in a statement.

The Marlboro-based Evergreen, which would more than double its state employment with the expansion, plans to build its facility on state-owned property adjacent to the headquarters of the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative, a quasi-public organization that invests funds in innovative companies and technologies.

In addition to the Evergreen expansion, officials also announced that the company and Nstar have entered into a “first-in-the-nation’ marketing program to promote solar power. Evergreen is also in talks with National Grid and Western Massachusetts Electric about similar agreements, Patrick’s office said.