Newsclip

Sun shines on Westboro
State woos solar company to expand
Worcester Telegram & Gazette
Sunday, April 22, 2007

There was good economic news for the entire state last week when Evergreen Solar Inc. announced that it would double the size of its solar energy business in Massachusetts with a new factory to be built on state-owned land in Westboro.

The company, which manufactures solar panels, wafers and cells, has a science and engineering facility in nearby Marlboro with about 100 employees. Evergreen’s decision is a coup for Massachusetts because other states had been pressing it to relocate. But a plan developed by the Partick/Murray administration made the difference by offering to lease state-owned land to the company for 30 years, saving it about $3 million. The state also offered Evergreen a $44 million financing package of grants and loans. About $23 million in grants will be shared by the company and the town.

Evergreen will also get $17 million in loans from the Massachusetts Development Finance Agency. The Massachusetts Technology Collaborative and Citizens Bank will give Evergreen another $17 million in loans.

The plant will cost $150 million and employ 350 people, bringing in about $16 million in new wages and benefits. Westboro will get about $546,000 in property taxes after the plant opens in the Massachusetts Technology Park. And there could be a secondary impact on the labor market with the potential of 1,000 more jobs for people who maintain and install solar panels.

We agree with Gov. Deval L. Patrick’s assessment that Evergreen will bring “good jobs, livable wage jobs with a future” not only to Westboro but also to all of Central Massachusetts.