Swiss solar manufacturer to spend $403.5 million to expand in Colorado Springs, seeks $3 million in city financial incentives

Reporter

Meyer Burger will repurpose the old Intel building located at 1575 Garden of the Gods Road in Colorado Springs to use as a solar cell manufacturing facility.

The Colorado Springs City Council on Monday generally supported an approximately $3 million financial incentive request from a Swiss solar manufacturer that announced plans in late July to invest hundreds of millions of dollars into the community and create more than 350 high-paying jobs.

Colorado Springs Economic Development Officer Bob Cope said Meyer Burger, an international company with another facility in Arizona, plans to spend $403.5 million over two years to transform the former Intel semiconductor plant at 1575 Garden of the Gods Road into a solar cell manufacturing facility.

Meyer Burger intends to convert the building into a 2 gigawatt-per-year facility that will manufacture solar cells — a semiconductor product that helps turn light into electricity and becomes part of solar modules commonly installed on the roofs of homes and commercial buildings.

Cope recommended the council approve a resolution at its regular meeting Aug. 22 authorizing a 10-year economic development agreement between the city and Meyer Burger.

If authorized, the agreement will create 380 high-paying jobs over 10 years, with the average annual wage around $77,842, Cope said.

An additional 434 jobs could be created indirectly or through induced demand over the proposed agreement term, bringing the total of new permanent jobs up to 814. The project agreement could create another 2,235 construction jobs, he said.

Colorado Springs would offer up to $3,035,000 in incentives for the project, according to a staff presentation. This includes a $2,035,000 sales and use tax rebate on the company's purchase of business personal property, such as machinery, equipment, furniture and fixtures; and a $1 million rebate on its purchase of construction materials.

Cope estimated the agreement would grow the local economy by about $1.07 billion over 10 years and would generate, after incentives, about $13.5 million in new city revenues during that time.

Over 10 years the project will also generate about $25 million in surplus revenue from Colorado Springs Utilities, Cope said.

"When you add that to new net city revenues from taxes, you're now looking at about $3.85 million in revenue added to the city annually, or $38.5 million over 10 years," he said.

The project is estimated to use 50 megawatts of electricity during peak demand, about 1,640 acre-feet of water per year and another 1,460 acre-feet of water per year for wastewater needs, Cope said.

An acre-foot of water is enough to cover an acre of land to a depth of one foot and is considered the amount needed by a family of four for about a year.

Cope said city staff have had discussions with Colorado Springs Utilities about this project and other capital plans, regarding what they mean for economic development and what kinds of deals the city can enter into each year, and assessing utilities consumption without "straining capacity."

"A lot of thought and energy has gone into that," he said.

Meyer Burger recently announced it expects to qualify for up to $1.4 billion in federal tax credits, starting with the 2024 launch of solar cell production in Colorado Springs and running through 2032.

Locally, the city, El Paso County and Colorado Springs Utilities have committed $90 million in financial incentives, mostly through tax credits, direct support and discounted electricity and water rates, the company previously said. The amount includes almost $5 million in tax credits approved in mid-July by the Colorado Economic Development Commission, which the company will receive once it creates its jobs.

Also, the city and Colorado Springs Chamber & EDC added $390,000 from their deal-closing fund, a program established last year with the goal of providing an extra cash incentive to help clinch a deal with employers considering expanding to the Pikes Peak region.

The deal with Meyer Burger is the latest in a series of new local economic development efforts.

On Tuesday, the City Council is scheduled to vote on a resolution approving an agreement between the city and an unidentified Colorado Springs-based aerospace and defense engineering company that wants to spend $3.4 million over 10 years to expand into Colorado Springs and add an estimated 620 high-paying jobs to the community over the next eight years.

High tech manufacturers Entegris and Microchip Technology have also announced their intent to expand their existing Colorado Springs operations in recent months, adding more than 1,000 jobs and making combined investments of nearly $1.5 billion. Zivaro, a Denver-based information and technology firm, has also announced it will bring more than 300 jobs to Colorado Springs.

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