BILL HANNA Executive Editor MOUNTAIN IRON — The solar energy plant in Mountain Iron was opened in October 2011 to much fanfare and talk of jobs that would help diversify the Iron Range economy. Silicon Energy officials told the media that the plant had an initial workforce of 15, with plans to hire up to an additional 10 positions. But those plans have never been fulfilled. It has not exactly been a sunny three years for a fledgling and troubled Iron Range project in a troubled U.S. solar panel industry. The plant currently has only six workers, with four of them in management, Silicon Energy Senior Vice President John Carroll said in a telephone interview last Thursday. Silicon added to its debt load last Thursday with a $1.95 million direct loan from the Iron Range Resources & Rehabilitation Board to provide operating funds for 2015 to offset costs of raw materials, inventory and manufacturing expenses. The company also has a $1.5 million IRRRB loan. The new loan is anticipated to create four new jobs at the solar plant, bringing the total workforce to 10. That will still be 33 percent down from the start-up level of 15 employees and 15 fewer than the 25 workers that company officials had projected in 2011. o The solar energy business launch on the Range was paved with a lot of public dollars from the Iron Range Resources & Rehabilitation Board and the State of Minnesota, most of them funneled through the Mountain Iron Economic Development Authority: • $1.7 million to Mountain Iron for infrastructure to create the Mountain Iron Renewable Energy Park, where Silicon located its solar panel plant. • $3.2 million, which was accessed by the Mountain Iron EDA through the IRRRB, for building the solar plant facility. • $1.5 million IRRRB loan for manufacturing equipment. • $1.95 million new IRRRB loan for operating expenses in 2015. • Total direct public funds: $8.35 million. • In addition, Silicon Energy has been helped by a $15 million-a-year, state-mandated made-in-Minnesota solar subsidy funded by ratepayers of investor-owned utilities. • And the company has also benefitted from contracts with some Iron Range government bodies to use panels from the Mountain Iron plant. The solar plant remains the Renewable Energy Park’s lone tenant, although Mountain Iron officials say other businesses have shown interest. Yet Mountain Iron City Councilor Tony Zupancich, who is EDA president, said it’s been “a great investment.” “There has not been one single local Mountain Iron tax dollar put in,” he said on Saturday. o The Range solar facility has had to weather job cutbacks, defects in some of the panels that led to a shutdown of operations for several months earlier this year, a six-figure replacement cost, and a tough U.S. marketplace where low-cost Chinese panels have been illegally dumped. Carroll told IRRR Board members on Thursday the company is now manufacturing a new lower cost panel called the Voyageur. The problem occurred with the Next Generation Cascade Series panels, with hundreds of them developing cracks and/or discoloration on their sides. But Silicon officials say the defect doesn’t affect the panels’ safety or electrical output. Hundreds have to be replaced under warranty. “We don’t replace 100 percent of them, because not all are flawed. It’s kind of an ongoing replacement as needed,” Carroll said in the MDN interview, adding that replacement costs so far have exceeded $100,000. Silicon Energy President Gary Shaver said Friday in a telephone interview that he believes the company and industry will begin to stabilize in 2015. “It’s been a freefall ... it’s damaged everyone,” he said about the illegal dumping of Chinese panels. He said a recent Commerce Department ruling that Chinese and Taiwanese producers were dumping below-cost solar panels into the U.S. will be helpful. The department recommended heavy tariffs on those products. Shaver said it will still take some time for the fairness to work its way through the industry. “We’ll see how the year progresses,” he said. Shaver said he’s confident about success of the new Silicon product. “Hopefully heading into the new year we’ll learn from the experience and then pick up the pace,” he said. o The mute buttons on the microphones of IRRR Board members must have been on when the Silicon $1.95 million loan request for day-to-day operations next year was discussed. No questions of concern or about jobs were asked, even though there are millions of public dollars in the facility. No one even asked how many workers are currently on the job at the Mountain Iron plant. Any words were of praise or hope. “It’s welcome news on higher tariffs on the Chinese product,” said Rep. Carly Melin of Hibbing. “I like the venture ... the science and entrepreneurship are very worthy,” said Rep. Tom Anzelc of Balsam Township. “Looking good now for the solar industry,” said Sen. David Tomassoni. And Rep. Jason Metsa of Virginia offered some salesman-like words for the product. “I look forward to seeing this go through. Lot of garages being built and hopefully some with solar panels,” he said.
Posted on: Sun, 21 Dec 2014 18:11:32 +0000
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