Silicon firm gets funds to set up Toledo plant
6/18/2010Local start-up Buckeye Silicon Inc. of Toledo has received additional funds from the state of Ohio to boost its plan to manufacture polycrystalline silicon for use by the solar-panel industry,
The Ohio Department of Development is providing a $1.3 million loan to help the firm set up a Toledo plant, buy equipment, and move toward annual production of 1,000 metric tons of solar-grade crystalline polysilicon, the staple of the solar panel industry, according to the Regional Growth Partnership, an economic development agency.
Buckeye Silicon previously received a $1.3 million loan from the Ohio Air Quality Development Authority, and a $50,000 grant from the Regional Growth Partnership's Rocket Ventures fund. Once the company chooses a site for its $3.7 million plant, it is expected to create nine jobs at first and up to 150 when full production is reached over the next 18 months, the partnership said.