China Sunergy Co., a specialized solar cell and module manufacturer, announced that its subsidiary Sunergy America has entered into a lease agreement with McClellan Business Park for building a facility with up to 400 MW of high efficiency solar module manufacturing capacity.
The new plant, located in a 140,000 sq-ft manufacturing building in McClellan Park in Sacramento County, California, is expected to begin operations in May 2017.
As a major step forward in China Sunergy’s global operations strategy, the new plant with fully automatic production lines aims to efficiently serve customers across the United States, which is the second largest market for the applications of solar energy. The new plant expects to create more than 200 job opportunities locally.
“We are delighted make solid steps toward introducing CSUN-branded and Made-in-America solar modules to local customers,” said Tingxiu Lu, chairman and CEO of China Sunergy. “Our new state-of-the-art facility will have a positive impact on the Company’s strategy of expanding its market share in the U.S market and benefiting the development of local economy through the jobs created and investment made.”
The company looked at other locations on the East Coast and in areas of the Midwest but picked McClellan Park in Sacramento because of the skilled labor, with California leading the solar industry conversation, and savings on logistics costs.
“We are very pleased to have China Sunergy join our growing roster of manufacturing companies at McClellan Park,” said Larry Kelley, president of McClellan Park. “China Sunergy further solidifies our mission to redevelop the former Air Force base into a modern business park while creating jobs for the Sacramento region.”
The Greater Sacramento Economic Council assisted with providing and developing a workforce study for China Sunergy to meet their workforce requirements. Additionally, introductions were made with Sacramento State’s engineering program.
“We are thrilled CSUN chose to build their first North American manufacturing plant at McClellan Park,” said Barry Broome, CEO of the Greater Sacramento Economic Council. “Their entry into this market validates the Sacramento region as the ‘California Option’ for companies interested in expanding into the U.S. market.”
SMUD played a significant role in convincing CSUN to come to Sacramento County by offering its Economic Development rate, a special pricing structure available to new or expanding companies that will use significant amounts of energy and will bring new jobs to the region. SMUD was also able to demonstrate high power quality and reliability ratings–something that is very important to a manufacturer like CSUN.
“The arrival of CSUN Solar to McClellan Park is outstanding news for the region,” said District 1 County Supervisor Phil Serna. “CSUN could have chosen any site in the United States for their manufacturing and assembly operations, and they recognized the value of doing business in Sacramento County. This signifies real progress as our business community continues to grow.”
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