70 green jobs coming to Circleville plant

CIRCLEVILLE — An expansion at a DuPont Co. plant here, spurred by an award of $50.7 million in federal tax credits for renewable energy manufacturing efforts, is expected to create 70 jobs in the solar panel industry.

Officials say a $175 million expansion at the site in Circleville also will help retain 444 jobs, and provide 230 temporary construction jobs.

Wilmington, Del.-based DuPont plans to use the expansion for its next line of films used on certain solar energy panels. Production is scheduled to start in fall 2011.

Gov. Ted Strickland said Monday, Jan. 18, that DuPont declined expansion two years ago because of concerns over the cost and reliability of electric service. He said a state energy plan is addressing those concerns.

The federal tax credits to DuPont are the largest single amount among $125 million awarded this month to Ohio manufacturers.

U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, announced the tax credit awards on Jan. 8 as part of his campaign to make Ohio “the Silicon Valley of clean energy manufacturing.”

That same day, President Obama announced that green energy production tax credits would amount to $2.3 billion nationwide — matched with $5 billion in private funds — to create 17,000 jobs.