SACTO Announces the Location of OptiSolar Inc. to the Sacramento Region

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 25, 2008

FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Tracey Schaal, Director of Strategic Marketing
SACTO
400 Capitol Mall, Suite 2500
Sacramento, CA 95814
(916) 441-2144; tschaal@sacto.org

 Sacramento County Board of Supervisors Approves
Economic Incentive Agreement with OptiSolar Inc.

Sacramento, CA – The Sacramento County Board of Supervisors has approved an economic incentive agreement with OptiSolar Inc. for one of the largest photo-voltaic panel manufacturing plants in the world. The agreement will provide an economic incentive of up to $20 million over a period of 25 years for OptiSolar Inc. to locate its 600,000 square foot solar panel manufacturing plant in Sacramento County at McClellan Park. During the next three years, it is anticipated that OptiSolar Inc. will have created 500 jobs at the manufacturing plant. Over the 25 year term of the economic incentive agreement, the plant is estimated to add $26 million to County tax receipts net of the economic incentives and approximately $539 million in new annual output to the region’s economy.

“This is validation that the Sacramento region is very desirable for manufacturing companies to locate in the area,” stated Board of Supervisors Chairman Jimmie Yee. “Attracting a major green technology manufacturer will bring benefits to our environmental protection efforts and in the form of jobs.”

OptiSolar Inc. whose headquarters are located in Hayward, California, is on the cutting edge of the production of photovoltaic panels for solar farms. The company handles every step of the power generation process from making solar panels to building large-scale solar power systems and selling the power. OptiSolar Inc., which specializes in thin film silicon solar cell technology to make the promise of large scale solar power production a reality, has signed long-term power sale agreements for over 200 MW of projects in Ontario, Canada and has additional large-scale projects in development. The physical plant will include glass preparation facilities, solar module manufacturing equipment, the assembly of solar panels and related office and infrastructure operations. It is estimated that for every primary job created by OptiSolar Inc., 3.4 support jobs will be created in the region.

“This is an excellent demonstration of how our local partnerships work together to bring quality business and industry into Sacramento County,” stated Terry Schutten, County Executive. “Teamwork made this happen.”

Sacramento County is just one of several entities that enabled OptiSolar Inc.to locate in the county. The Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency, the Sacramento Area Commerce and Trade Organization (SACTO), McClellan Park, SMUD, and the State of California Business Investment Services all played major roles in helping OptiSolar Inc. to locate here.

“Attracting clean energy companies of this caliber to the Sacramento Region solidifies our emergence as a hot spot for this industry sector,“ stated SACTO Board Chair, Jeff Koewler. “It also helps in SACTO’s recruitment efforts focused on high-value, clean technology companies and helps to elevate the region’s visibility both nationally and internationally.”

Contact Information of Partnering Entities:

OptiSolar Inc
Jeff Lettes, Director of Communications, 510-401-5712

Sacramento County Economic Development
Rob Leonard, Director, 916-874-7876

Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency
Gregory Wessel, Assistant Director, 916-440-1346

Sacramento Area Commerce and Trade Organization (SACTO)
Tracey Schaal, Director of Strategic Marketing, 916-441-2144

McClellan Park LLC
Larry Kelley, President, 916-965-6700

SMUD
Greg Hribar, Economic Development Manager, 916-732-6290

State of California Business Investment Services
Dave Freitas, CalBIS Manager, 916-322-0235

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