Ford Wixom Plant to Bring Renewable Energy Jobs to Michigan
By Chris Weiss
The Ford Wixom Plant, which used to manufacture Lincoln parts but was shut down in 2007, is now slated to be the site of solar panel and battery manufacturing that will bring 4,000 jobs to Michigan. The $725-million conversion is underway and company and public officials are rallying around the great potential of bringing in renewable energy manufacturing. The plant will now produce solar panels by Clairvoyant Energy of California and large-storage batteries by Xtreme Power. A variety of tax breaks and state and federal grants have helped make the changeover possible. Governor Jennifer Granholm has called the major renewable energy commitment “symbolic of the Michigan that we are to become” and Clairvoyant CEO David Hardee has suggested it will help Michigan become the Silicon Valley of renewable energy. [via freep.com]
