By The Star Staff
Gov. Jenniffer González Colón announced on Monday the establishment of Solx Puerto Rico, the first solar panel manufacturing plant on the island, with an initial investment of $64 million and a projected creation of 610 jobs in Aguadilla.
“This plant is in the process of acquiring the technology to begin commercial operations in August of this year,” the governor said at a press conference at La Fortaleza. “This project will generate 200 direct jobs in its first phase, is already in the planning and recruitment phase, and has committed to creating 610 jobs projected over the next five years.”
“This is obviously a result of the economic commitment of the government of Puerto Rico, which seeks to expand and incentivize many of these jobs,” González Colón added. “The government’s investment in this company is basically almost $7 million, of which $6 million will go toward technology and $1.5 million will incentivize the creation of new jobs. The strategic role of manufacturing solar panels in Puerto Rico is not only for Puerto Rico and the United States, but also as a hub for the creation of solar panels in the Caribbean. So, on an island where we are investing in our energy diversity, having local production with an initial investment of $64 million is no small feat.”
The governor marked the occasion as a celebration of “two things.”
“One, bringing a new manufacturing industry to Puerto Rico; we didn’t have solar panel manufacturing,” she said. “Two, using it in an area where we had the former Hewlett Packard site. So we’re relocating and repositioning many of these properties that the Puerto Rico government had unused.”