Solar factory goes to Devens; Westboro loses out on plant, jobs.

Byline: Martin Luttrell

WESTBORO - Stymied by steep topography and ledge, Evergreen Solar Inc. has moved the site of its planned $150 million solar panel factory to the former military reservation at Devens.

State officials said the reversal occurred over the past several weeks. Engineers said the topography and size of the site made the possibility of building the plant on the 14-acre parcel questionable. Evergreen had been slated to use state-owned land on the campus of the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative. In April the company, along with Gov. Deval L. Patrick, announced plans to build off Milk Street and add 350 new jobs. Telephone calls and e-mails yesterday to Evergreen Solar officials were not returned.

The company, a manufacturer of solar power products, will use land in Devens being redeveloped by the Massachusetts Development Finance Agency, said Darrell LeMar, deputy director of communications for the Executive Office of Housing and Community Development. He said the company found that the rock ledge made it too expensive to build in Westboro.

"They'll just move the plan from point A to point B," he said. "But the good thing is that we're retaining them in Massachusetts."

Leigh A. Emery, vice chairman of the Westboro Board of Selectmen, said the town was eagerly anticipating the

350 jobs the solar power factory was expected to create.

"It's disappointing that they won't be here," she said. "But on the other hand, it's nice that it's staying in Massachusetts. I can understand why they chose Devens. It's a great location."

On Thursday, the state Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development announced Devens had been awarded a $10 million grant to upgrade infrastructure related to Evergreen Solar's business expansion and job creation.

The state already had awarded several incentives to Evergreen, including a $44 million financing package of grants and loans. Evergreen will also receive $17 million in loans from the Massachusetts Development Finance Agency, the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative and Citizens Bank.

Christopher A. Kealey, spokesman for the Technology Collaborative, said state officials are pleased that the company is staying in the Bay State, noting that Evergreen Solar was being pursued by North Carolina, Oregon and New York. None of the agency's grants or loans to Evergreen Solar will change with the new building site, he said.

"As a state agency, our first goal is to see that they expand in Massachusetts, not another state or another country," he said. "As long as it's in Massachusetts, our commitment is the same."

He said the slope on the Westboro site had become an issue, and that MTC has had discussions with Westboro officials over the potential development.

"If there were another development the town wanted there, we would be happy with that," he said.

With the closing of Fort Devens, the Massachusetts Development Finance Agency took title to the 4,400-acre Devens property in 1996 and is overseeing its development. There are more than 80 companies in the commerce park, including a 355,000 square foot manufacturing plant American Superconductor Corp. opened in 2001. A $750 million drug manufacturing plant is also under construction by Bristol-Myers Squibb Co.