Canadian Solar plans $800M production facility, 1,200 jobs in Jeffersonville
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A global developer of large-scale solar power plants and battery storage projects is expanding into southern Indiana, the Indiana Economic Development Corp. announced Monday.
Canadian Solar plans to invest $800 million to build a solar photovoltaic cell production facility in the River Ridge Commerce Center in Jeffersonville and create 1,200 jobs over the next several years.
The facility will be the company’s second solar module production plant in the U.S.
When complete, Canadian Solar said the plant will have an annual production output of five gigawatts, the equivalent of about 20,000 high-power solar panels per day. The finished cells will be shipped to the company’s new assembly facility in Texas that was announced earlier this year.
Production at the Jeffersonville plant is expected to begin by the end of 2025.
“Establishing this factory is a key milestone that will enable us to better serve our U.S. customers with the most advanced technology in the industry,” Canadian Solar founder and CEO Shawn Qu said in a news release. “This is the second of the anticipated long-term investments we expect to make in the U.S. as we think strategically about a sustainable and resilient clean energy supply chain.
Founded in 2001, Canadian Solar employs more than 20,000 people across more than 30 countries. The new Jeffersonville plant will join similar facilities in Canada, China, Brazil, Vietnam and Thailand.
The company plans to begin hiring for the new jobs in mid-2024 and ramp up hiring in early 2025 to fully staff the new facility.
The IEDC has offered Canadian Solar up to $9.7 million in conditional tax credits, up to $400,000 in training grants, up to $2 million in redevelopment tax credits, and up to $200,000 in Manufacturing Readiness Grants.
The incentives are performance-based, which means the company will not be eligible to claim the incentives until Hoosier workers are hired for the new jobs and investments are made.
The city of Jeffersonville and the River Ridge Development Authority have offered additional incentives for the project.
“The city of Jeffersonville is pleased that Canadian Solar has chosen River Ridge Commerce Center as home for their newest critical production facility in the United States,” said Jeffersonville Mayor Mike Moore. “Not only are they making a large financial investment into our community, but they will also become one of the largest single-site employers in the Greater Louisville region. We are thrilled to see a global industry leader join our community and provide a product with enormous potential.”
The project is the latest major investment announced for River Ridge this month. Last week, The Cheesecake Factory detailed plans to build a $74 million bakery in the Charlestown portion of the business park and create more than 200 jobs by 2025.