Category: News || By

The city is close to landing the East Coast manufacturing plant for a company that designs easy-to-install solar panels for homes and small businesses.

McKeesport is in the running because the state has the right incentives and is "focused on jobs," says Bob Bennett, a co-founder of United States Green Energy Corp.

The plant would reportedly be located at the RIDC Industrial Park on the former U.S. Steel National Works site, but Bennett tells the Almanac he can't yet confirm any details. "We're still very early in the process," he says, "so it's a little difficult to talk about anything."

According to a legislative aide to state Reps. Marc Gergely and Bill Kortz, a $750,000 grant has been approved to enable USGEC to purchase equipment for a facility in McKeesport.

"Without this step, it would not have happened," says Bennett, a former Westinghouse Electric Corp. executive. McKeesport "has good incentives, there's a very good manufacturing workforce available, and there are a lot of suppliers we work with who are in the area."

. . .

The company is currently based in Fredericksburg, Va., but that facility has been described as temporary. Bennett says the company is very interested in locating its first permanent factory in Western Pennsylvania.

Contrary to public perception, Pennsylvania's business climate is very friendly, he says --- especially for renewable energy companies that make items such as wind turbines, batteries and solar cells.

"Of the states that I've dealt with recently, Pennsylvania is head and shoulders above any of them," Bennett says. "Pennsylvania has a set of incentives, people know what they're for and where they are, and they're focused on jobs."

. . .

As for McKeesport, Bennett is familiar with the Mon Valley --- he worked at Westinghouse's Monroeville Energy Center and lived in Mt. Lebanon --- and says it has very influential and passionate advocates.

"We were encouraged to look at Western Pennsylvania by a number of people on the state level," he says. "I'm very happy with the state. When you live there, you only hear about the bad things. But there are a lot of things that Pennsylvania has that, for instance, Virginia or North Carolina don't have. They're not as focused or aggressive."

Bennett told the Almanac it's too soon to say where the facility might be located or how many people it might employ.

. . .

According to published reports, the company foresees a $150 million per year market for its product --- easy-to-install, mass-produced solar panels that take the place of conventional building components --- and hopes to employ up to 250 people in the next 18 months.

The grant from the Pennsylvania Energy Development Authority is designed to help USGEC purchase a laminating machine to manufacture shingles and siding, according to the statement from Gergely and Kortz.

The announcement from Kortz and Gergely says the company will likely be taking over the former McKeesport Connecting Railroad roundhouse at the east end of the RIDC Industrial Park, located on the site of the former U.S. Steel National Works.

. . .

"This new machine will be part of the company's planned production facility in a restored roundhouse at a former steel mill," Gergely says. "This will breathe new life into a former industrial site and support the development of renewal energy."

The city has been aggressively marketing the RIDC Industrial Park to potential tenants since Dish Network closed a call center in March.

Several high-tech firms are already located in the RIDC park, including Maglev Inc. and Consolidated Power Supply.

Kortz called the grant a "further demonstration of the state's commitment to investing in green energy technology that will help this emerging industry to create jobs in Pennsylvania and protect our environment."

. . .

Earlier this month, the Richmond, Va., Times-Dispatch reported United States Green Energy is making solar panels --- banks of photovoltaic cells that turn the sun's energy into electricity --- that are designed to directly replace conventional roofing and siding.

One such roof has already been installed and four more are planned.

Bennett told the newspaper that existing solar panels are hard to install and must be custom fit at great expense.

USGEC's panels are designed as off-the-shelf components and manufactured to standard dimensions. A solar roof made of USGEC's components can pay for itself in terms of power savings within five years, the newspaper reported.

. . .

Bennett and his partners have each invested $1.5 million of their own money into the company, according to the Times-Dispatch, and have not taken any loans or used any venture capital.

"I've been in the energy business forever," Bennett told the Almanac. "My partners and I are completely dedicated to this. There are still a lot of details to work out, but this is the critical first step."

You should type something in the 'comment'-field. Be sure to click on 'Post Comment' to store it permanently.