Press Release of Senator Lugar Lugar welcomes solar grant for Tipton Tuesday, July 6, 2010 U.S. Senator Dick Lugar today welcomed the announcement by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) of a loan guarantee for a Colorado-based company to manufacture solar panels in Tipton, Indiana.   The DOE informed Lugar that it will make a conditional commitment of $400 million to Abound Solar Manufacturing, LLC, based in Lakewood, Colorado. According to the DOE, the company will manufacture state-of-the-art thin-film solar panels. This will be the first time this technology is deployed commercially anywhere in the world. The project includes two facilities, one in Longmont, Colorado and the other in Tipton, Indiana. The Indiana facility will occupy a new factory originally constructed for Getrag, a Chrysler auto parts supplier that was never able to move in due to the economic downturn.   When fully operational, the company will produce millions of solar panels annually, the DOE informed Lugar. The panels can be produced at a lower cost than crystalline silicon modules and emit less greenhouse gas emissions compared to existing solar panel manufacturers. The project’s initial annual production of panels will be able to produce 840 megawatts (MW) of power. With future panel efficiency improvements, that number could increase up to 1,100 MW. The project is expected to reach full capacity by 2013.   “I am very pleased to learn that the Department of Energy has approved this loan guarantee which will advance Abound’s plans to manufacture these innovative solar panels in Indiana,” Lugar said.  “I am encouraged that the hard work of Tipton County local officials, and the State of Indiana’s Economic Development Corporation, has garnered Indiana a new corporate manufacturer. I believe that this investment bodes very well for future employment and renewable energy sales opportunities from this innovative company.”   The Abound loan application was strongly endorsed by the Indiana Congressional Delegation in a letter of support in October 2009.   ###