The Oregonian is covering opening of the new Sanyo plant in Salem.
A few highlights from the coverage:
- The solar wafer plant in Salem cost Sanyo $80M
- $45M in state and local tax incentives. Assuming 200 jobs, incentives equal $225,000 per new job
- Sanyo builds higher-end (more expensive) solar panels. This may or not be a good long term strategy given that solar cell prices have dropped 50% over the last year (arguably, there is a solar production glut)
- Sanyo grows crystals and cuts them into wafers in Salem. Wafers are sent to Japan to create cells. Cells are turned into panels in Mexico or Hungary. Contrast this geographically complex process with SolarWorld’s all in facility in Hillsboro
- Sanyo’s capacity in Salem will be 350,000 200-watt solar panels per year (with expansion potential)
