Solyndra signs huge industrial lease (San Francisco)

As if breaking ground on a massive manufacturing facility weren’t enough in 2009, Solyndra Inc. also decided to sign one of the largest industrial leases in the East Bay of the last decade.

The solar panel maker has made a significant investment that will resonate not only in its hometown of Fremont, where it will eventually occupy more than 1.4 million square feet of space, but also in the Bay Area and the state.

Solyndra, founded in 2005, has swiftly grown into a leader among cleantech companies.

“We looked at several cities in the Bay Area and in several other states, but Fremont made the most sense for our business,” said David Miller, a Solyndra spokesman. “The Bay Area has one of the most innovative and creative tech workforces in the world and being able to attract people with the experience from the semiconductor and other tech industries we needed to build our solar business was important.”

Solyndra has also been in a hurry to expand. The company had a $2 billion backlog of contracts last year and got an infusion of cash after receiving a $535 million loan guarantee from the U.S. Department of Energy. The money for the loan was authorized under the Energy Policy Act of 2005, but was funded through last year’s federal stimulus act.

Read the full story in the San Francisco Business Times.