Solyndra Property Approved For Sale As Another Solar Company Goes Dark
Colo. Firm Acknowledges ‘Challenging’ Market Conditions for U.S. Solar Firms
By Randyl Drummer
Bankrupt thin-film solar panel manufacturer Solyndra LLC has chosen Jones Lang LaSalle to market the sale of its headquarters and production facility in Fremont, CA, even as another leading firm that reportedly received government loan guarantees has closed its doors in Colorado and laid off 180 workers in the difficult market for U.S. solar manufacturers.
The JLL team of Bart Lammersen, Greg Matter and Jason Ovadia will lead the effort to sell the corporate headquarters and primary production facility at 47488 Kato Road following the approval of the sale by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court overseeing the Solyndra case.
On Tuesday, Loveland, CO-based Abound Solar Inc. announced it will cease production of its first-generation solar module, resulting in the “temporary reduction” of about 180 permanent jobs in its Colorado facilities, the company said in a statement. Abound said the closure is necessary to accelerate the manufacturing process and equipment changes needed for the production launch of its next-generation high-efficiency module.
“Once manufacturing equipment has been modified and performance tested, Abound Solar expects to resume mass production with a 12.5-13 percent efficiency module by the end of 2012,” according to the statement.
The Solyndra facility, completed in 2010, sits on a 30-acre parcel with prominent Interstate 880 frontage, suited to a variety of clean-tech and technology uses. Fremont is the closest city in Alameda County to Silicon Valley, and frequently associated with it.
The 280,000-square-foot manufacturing space is rated as a Class 100,000 under ISO 8 international standards for clean rooms and was designed to exceed California seismic standards. The building’s 21-kilovolt electrical service is backed up by two diesel emergency generators, each with 2 megawatt capacity.
A two-story office space totaling approximately 30,000 square feet was constructed to LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Gold standards. The property includes plans for an additional 200,000-plus-square-foot expansion facility.
Read the entire CoStar article here.
The Peninsula Industrial Pros 
Let’s hope that the new bosses can bring a good return on investment. We need more solar and green tech.