Strickland lauds Perrysburg solar plant

PERRYSBURG - Gov. Ted Strickland came to Perrysburg Wednesday and toured the Willard & Kelsey Solar Group factory, the newest player in the solar panel production industry in Northwest Ohio.

"Willard & Kelsey, I believe, will become an increasingly important player as they proceed to develop this new, exciting, efficient technology," Strickland said after touring the plant with company leaders.

"This is an exciting new company that has a product that we expect will be hugely successful," the governor said. "In the months and years to come, on this site, hundreds and even thousands of new jobs will be created to put Ohioans back to work."

WK Solar, a $13.5 million start-up project, is located in the former Delafoil television component plant on Ohio 25. It's about one mile south of Levis Commons on the east side of Route 25. The company purchased the 250,000 square-foot facility last year for $7 million.

Many of the company founders are former employees of First Solar, currently the largest producer of so-called "thin-film" solar panels in the world. The thin-film technology uses cadmium telluride as a semiconductor to turn sunlight into usable electric energy. First Solar is located several miles north of WK Solar, in Cedar Business Park, off Ohio 795.

According to William Mitchell, president and CEO of WK Solar, his firm also plans to produce thin film panels, but at a lower production cost than First Solar.

WK Solar has a workforce of 34 with plans to increase that to 400 when production ramps up in the fourth quarter of this year. The company is perfecting its production process and conducting ongoing research and development.

"We hope to have all of those employees employed before the end of this year," Mitchell said after taking the governor on a tour of the plant.

Mitchell said small scale production should begin within a month, with full scale around-the-clock production starting in seven months.

Once production is ramped up, WK Solar expects to turn out an estimated two million solar modules annually that can produce 150 megawatts of electricity.

Strickland said this is the kind of company that can put Ohioans back to work and make the Buckeye State a leader in the alternative energy industry.

"Our economy is in a state of transition. Everyone knows that," Strickland said. "As this company grows, a lot of auto workers that may have lost their jobs in the auto industry will be able to find employment with this company."

Mitchell agreed, saying that the automated production line and quality control systems that will be used at WK Solar are similar to those found at automotive plants.

"The skills sets are very similar to the skill sets in the automotive industry," Mitchell said.

Mitchell also said negotiations with a potential buyer of WK's solar panels are underway.

"I'm in final negotiations with a group that would like to buy all of our product, for the next two to three years, that we could possibly produce here."

Strickland used Wednesday's tour, and following press conference, to promote state incentive programs he believes will help spur the creation of even more new industry companies like WK Solar. Strickland wants to expand the current programs and create some new ones.

This includes expanding the Job Creation Tax Incentive Program which gives new companies a break on state payroll income tax, as much as 75-percent for up to 15 years. Companies must meet certain criteria to qualify, including creating jobs that pay more than $12.70 an hour.

WK Solar has qualified for the program and will receive 60-percent relief for 10 years. Current estimates indicate this will save the company around $3.5 million over 10 years.

WK Solar also has received low interest state loans, for the purchase of production machinery, as well as local tax incentives from the city of Perrysburg.

WK Solar takes its name from the intersection of Willard and Kelsey streets in East Toledo, where one of the company's founders grew up. The founders include five partners and two officers.

One of the reasons the company located in the Toledo area is due to the fact that its solar panels use glass panels to sandwich the thin-film semiconductor material.

"The most expensive part of our solar panel is the glass," said Mitchell. Being close to glass manufacturers translates to reduced unit cost for that key component.

Strickland noted legislation he promoted, which was approved by the state legislature and signed into law by the governor, gives Ohio the third strongest renewable energy standard in the U.S. Under this plan, 25-percent of all the electricity sold in Ohio must come from renewable or alternative energy sources by the year 2025. Companies like WK Solar in years to come may find their biggest customers are right in their own backyard.

( The BG Sentinel-Tribune is a FOXToledo.com media affiliate)