SunPower plans Bay Area solar manufacturing plant

Solar photovoltaic maker SunPower Corp. will open its first U.S. manufacturing plant in Milpitas later this year, bringing an estimated 100 new jobs to a facility in an agreement with contract manufacturer Flextronics International Ltd.

The company formally announced its plan Thursday at an event in Milpitas attended by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, Milpitas Mayor Robert Livengood and SunPower CEO Thomas Werner. The announcement comes on Earth Day, and coincidentally also on the 25th anniversary of SunPower’s founding.

But in a pre-announcement briefing, SunPower vice president for public policy Julie Blunden said the plans for launching a local manufacturing plant have been in the works for about three years.

The company was heavily courted by other states, most notably Arizona, as well as local cities including San Jose, where the company’s headquarters is located at 3939 N. First St.

The city’s enterprise zone designations could have helped the company obtain additional benefits such as hiring-tax credits and sales- and use-tax credits. But in the end, Milpitas was able to quickly put together a $1.5 million loan offer, payable over three years, that helped seal the deal.

Read the full story in the Silicon Valley / San Jose Business Journal.