Abound
Solar, which is headquartered in Loveland and has a manufacturing plant east of
Longmont, will use the new plant in Tipton, Indiana, to make solar modules.
Development of the site will begin in 2012, and it is expected to bring more
than 900 jobs to the Tipton area.

Abound
Solar intends to increase its production capacity more than 12-fold in the next
few years, marketing director Mark Chen said.

The
company signed a long-term lease for the building. It was purchased by a
partnership of five Colorado-based investors that includes W.W. Reynolds
founder and chief executive Bill Reynolds.

The
factory was listed for $46 million, but a number of tax incentives could
substantially lower the cost the investors paid, said Gayle Van Sessen, Tipton
County Community and Economic Development. Tipton County is offering property
tax abatements that could equal $13 million, and Indiana is offering tax
credits based on the number of Abound Solar employees that could equal the same
amount, Van Sessen said.

The
incentives would go to the building’s new and old owners to lower the purchase
price to about $25 million, she said.

W.W.
Reynolds president and chief operating officer Jeff Wingert said the company’s
interest in the deal was driven by its relationship with Abound Solar. W.W.
Reynolds owns the building that houses production facility near Longmont.

It will
be Reynolds’ first out-of-state property.

“It
seemed to make sense,” Wingert said. “For now it’s a one-time deal.
… We’re not actively pursuing real estate outside the state.”

The
building is vacant and was built by Getrag Transmission Manufacturing LLC, a
German-based company that went bankrupt before it could occupy the plant.

Abound
Solar conducted a nationwide search for the new plant, Chen said. The search
was guided by the company’s desire to obtain a $400 million loan from the U.S.
Department of Energy. The department had a number of constraints that made it
implausible for Abound Solar to build a new facility and essentially required
Abound Solar find a newly built but unoccupied building. Colorado did not have
any spaces that met that criteria.

“It
came down to just a handful of sites around the country,” Chen said.

Abound
Solar announced the news Tuesday, along with the closing of the federal loan
and the receipt of a $110 million equity investment.

Abound
Solar also announced plans to triple the size of its Longmont facility and hire
about 200 more employees during the next 18 months. The company employees about
200 people at that facility and has about 350 employees in Colorado.

“The
vast majority of growth over the next few years will be in Colorado,” Chen
said.