City OKs $1 million in funding for Ebon Solar project

Solar manufacturer with Singapore roots plans large-scale expansion at Mesa del Sol

Ebon Solar expects to create over 900 jobs with the expansion.

City councilors unanimously voted Monday to approve the allocation of a million dollars in city funds to build a solar factory.

In August, Delaware-based Ebon Solar announced an estimated $942 million investment on building a 834,000-square-foot solar cell manufacturing facility.

The factory will be located in the Mesa del Sol corridor.

The bill was sponsored by City Councilor Klarissa Peña and co-sponsored by fellow City Councilor Louie Sanchez.

Judy Cai, CEO of Ebon Solar, spoke to councilors Monday. Cai said the search for where to build the site considered more than 20 cities. She said “we chose correctly” on the decision to pick Albuquerque.

“We’re grateful for these wonderful partnerships formed with the city, county and state,” Cai said.

Cai also told city councilors that the products produced in the factory would be largely for use in the United States.

Cai and Ebon aren’t just getting city funds for the project; the state has allocated $10 million to help fund the project.

“We have succeeded in making New Mexico a global center for advanced energy manufacturing,” Gov. Lujan Grisham said previously in a statement upon Ebon announcing the Albuquerque site.

The new solar factory is estimated to create more than 900 jobs.

In an interview with the Journal in August, Cai said that she hoped that a ground-breaking on the site would take place during the final quarter of the fiscal year.

Ebon Solar isn’t the first solar company to select the growing Mesa del Sol district.

Last August, Maxeon Solar Technologies picked the same site, announcing plans for 1.9 million-square-foot plant.

Both companies also have Singaporean roots.

The solar companies are just two of the notable businesses Mesa del Sol has netted in recent years — Netflix’s West Coast production hub being one of the most notable.