United Solar Ovonic, LLC, located in Auburn Hills, has announced plans to build a new solar cell manufacturing facility in Greenville. The project could add 200 permanent jobs and is a reversal of fortune for a community that recently suffered the closing of a major Electrolux plant. It is also a victory for Gov. Jennifer Granholm, whose economic development team assembled an incentive package that beat a competing proposal from South Carolina.

When operational in 2007, the new plant will double the company's Michigan-based capacity to produce so-called thin amorphous photovoltaic cells, which are featured in building integrated roofing systems.

This announcement shows that the clean energy sector can deliver new, high-tech jobs to offset the contraction of Michigan's traditional manufacturing business. Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and other states have demonstrated that further benefits are possible with policies that aggressively promote renewable energy, such as a law setting a minimum level of renewable energy that all suppliers must provide, known as a Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS). Michigan officials should make this a top economic development priority, aside from the corresponding environmental benefits.