Fremont Solar Company Stimulates 3,000 Jobs

Vice President Joe Biden, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and U.S.  Department of Secretary Steven Chu Friday announced the federal government has finalized a $535 million loan guarantee for a Fremont solar company.

The money, which is the first loan guarantee available through  President Obama's Recovery and Reinvestment Act, will finance construction of  the first phase of Solyndra Inc.'s new manufacturing facility, according to  the governor's office.

About 3,000 construction jobs will be created through the project,  and eventually about 1,000 direct and indirect workers will be employed as  well.

In addition, the facility, which manufactures cylindrical solar  photovoltaic panels, will provide enough clean renewable energy to power  24,000 homes a year through the first phase of production, according to the  governor's office.

"We have adopted policies in California that have driven demand  for solar and other renewable technologies, and our businesses and  entrepreneurs are rising to the challenge," Schwarzenegger said in a prepared  statement.

"Projects like this are exactly why I supported President Obama's  Recovery Act -- because this funding will create thousands of jobs, stimulate  our economy and move us closer to our clean energy goals," he said.

Schwarzenegger Friday also called on the California Legislature to  pass AB 1111, a measure that would exempt manufacturing equipment for  eligible clean technology companies such as Solyndra from sales tax.

Biden helped Chu and Schwarzenegger make the announcement via  satellite from Washington, D.C.

"This announcement today is part of the unprecedented investment  this Administration is making in renewable energy and exactly what the  Recovery Act is all about," Biden said in a statement.

"By investing in the infrastructure and technology of the future,  we are not only creating jobs today, but laying the foundation for long-term  growth in the 21st century."