A German company this morning announced plans to build a solar technology manufacturing plant in Albuquerque's Mesa Del Sol development that could one day employ 1500 people.
Schott Solar will break ground next month on a 200,000-square-foot facility- an initial $100 million investment that will intially employ 350 people to build receivers for concentrated solar power plants and 64 megawatts worth of photovoltaic modules. The manufacturing plant is expected to be open sometime in 2009. The company over time hopes to increase its investment in New Mexico to $500million, grow its plant to 800'000 square feet and employ 1500 people. That optimism is based upon a solar energy market that is growing by 50% every year thanks to an increasing global energy demand and rising costs of dwindling fossil fuel resources. If the company meets its goal it could become the state's third largest private employer.