In the first week of February, Dow Chemical Co., developer of the revolutionary Dow Powerhouse Solar Shingle, said that Midland, Michigan had been designated as the likely site for its new, commercial-scale, solar shingle-making factory.
Dow, which announced the development of the solar shingle late last year, also received TIME Magazine’s 2009 award for its product as the one of “The 50 Best Inventions of 2009".
The shingle, which integrates low-cost, thin-film CIGS (Copper, Indium, Gallium, Selenide) photovoltaic technology into a roofing shingle design, achieves one of the paradigms for BIPV (building integrated photovoltaics); that is, a roofing shingle which can be installed simultaneously with conventional shingles by roofing contractors who have no experience in solar installation or technology.
The preference, expressed by Dow Solar Solutions General Manager Jane Palmieri, was reportedly a result of Midland’s R&D capabilities, marketing expertise, the area’s strong manufacturing base, and the state’s offering of tax incentives to the Dow offshoot.
Other states have expressed in interest in hosting the Dow solar roofing shingle manufacturing facility, but the 1,200 new jobs and financial impetus such a factory would provide to beleaguered Michigan – which has achieved an almost 16-percent unemployment rate largely as a result of a bankrupt auto industry – is of immeasurable value.
Of course, local and state officials still have to finalize those sources of funding – a tough call in a dismal economy – but Palmieri has expressed her “high degree” of confidence in that happening in a timely manner. In addition, Dow’s CEO and Chairman, Andrew N. Liveris, has expressed Dow’s intent to work with the city, the state, and Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm to help secure support for the project.
According to Liveris, the Michigan Economic Development Corp., or MEDC – a public corporation created through a network of agreements state and local governments – is reportedly considering up to $140 million in tax incentives to lure Dow into the area, and this tax advantage, combined with local, state and federal funding, will expedite factory construction and commercial-scale production of the solar shingles, which are currently being manufactured in a small-scale plant also located in Midland.
Dow has already committed itself to expanding its solar product development R&D, increasing the $100 million in investments it has already made toward the development of solar products since 2007, when the company got a $20 million Solar America Initiative Pathways Program grant from the U.S. Department of Energy.
Once Dow submits its request to city officials, an incentive package of benefits could be approved in as little as two months, according to economic development corporation Midland Tomorrow’s CEO, Scott Walker. Midland is a private, nonprofit economic development corporation, or ECD, aimed at improving the quality of life by enhancing job creation and retention through a broadening of industries and commercial venues in which Midland residents work.