PERRYSBURG, Ohio — Northwest Ohio is set to receive $16.1 million in federal funding Thursday for solar innovation.
Perrysburg-based Toledo Solar will receive $8.8 million and Tempe, Arizona-based First Solar will receive $7.3 million, both from the U.S. Department of Energy, Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-Toledo) announced.
Toledo Solar will also invest an additional $10 million "to demonstrate the application of semitransparent cadmium telluride (CdTe) solar panels to windows, addressing a new market for thin-film solar devices."
“We are proud to receive this award which will help us continue the expansion of our domestically manufactured portfolio of solar technologies,” Aaron Bates, the CEO of Toledo Solar, said in a press release from Kaptur's office. “In this effort, we will work with our partners, the University of Toledo, The National Renewable Energy Laboratory and Alpen HPP, to accelerate commercialization of our CdTe-based, building integrated photovoltaic windows.”
First Solar's $7.3 million in matching funds will be used on a project to "develop a tandem module combining CdTe and silicon carbide—a new residential rooftop product that is more efficient than silicon or thin-film modules on the market today."
Kaptur, who serves as a ranking member of the U.S. House's Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development, said the investment in Toledo-area solar efforts is beneficial to the region's economic growth and "will help us to build America’s energy future right here in the Heartland.”
This is the latest in recent significant investments in renewable and clean energy projects in northwest Ohio.
In October, First Solar announced plans for a $270 million research and development innovation center in Perrysburg designed to enhance the production of advanced thin film photovoltaics.
The 1.3 million-square-foot facility is expected to open in 2024 near First Solar's existing Perrysburg manufacturing plant and create about 200 jobs.
British oil and gas company BP began construction of the Arche Solar project in Fulton County in January.
The facility is expected to create approximately 200 new jobs across the U.S. supply chain during construction, offset over 155,000 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions annually and provide over $30 million dollars in revenue to local schools.
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