United Solar Ovonic LLC (Ovonic Solar), a developer of silicon solar technology, and a wholly owned subsidiary of Energy Conversion Devices Inc. (ECD, Rochester Hills, MI), announced that it has selected the site for its next thin-film solar panel manufacturing facility. Under a 10-year lease agreement, General Development Company LLC (Southfield, MI) will construct a 160,000 ft² manufacturing facility for Ovonic Solar near its current manufacturing facility.
Construction of the new facility is expected to begin in July following site plan approvals and issuance of building permits. Completion and occupancy of the new facility is scheduled for May 2006. A portion of the facility will be available in October of this year to begin installation of the new thin-film solar panel manufacturing equipment. When fully operational, the facility is expected to double Ovonic Solar's manufacturing capacity and to employ approximately 200 additional people.
