Growth in renewable energy continues, as reliance on fossil fuels declines. Capitalizing on one of the most abundant renewable energy sources—solar energy—Heliene, Inc. is expanding its solar photovoltaic module manufacturing plant in northern Minnesota.
Approximately 68,000 square feet will be added to Heliene’s existing manufacturing facility in Mountain Iron. The expansion, which will cost approximately $21 million, will bring the total square footage of the plant to 95,000, enough for the addition of an advanced automation solar panel production line. After the upgrade, the facility is expected to produce 900 megawatts of solar power annually and will be the second-largest solar module producer in the nation, based on capacity. The expansion will create 60 new jobs.
The Bureau of Business and Economic Research (BBER) at the University of Minnesota studied construction spending totals and employment estimates from recent news reports to calculate the potential economic impacts that the construction and operation of the Heliene expansion would have on Minnesota’s Arrowhead Region, which includes Aitkin, Carlton, Cook, Itasca, Koochiching, Lake, and St. Louis counties. As Heliene expects the facility to be operational in June 2022, all impacts were modeled for the year 2022 but are shown in 2021 dollars.
Two models were run (using IMPLAN software) to analyze the construction’s employment impact and the 60 new jobs employment impact independently.
The first model estimated that the $21 million construction project could add, in total, more than 250 new jobs immediately in the Arrowhead Region, with the wages and salaries (including benefits) contributed to the region averaging $14.3 million (2021 dollars) annually during the construction stage. These are temporary jobs that will end once construction is completed.
The second model results show that the 60 new jobs for facility maintenance and operation could generate 79 additional jobs (via induced and indirect effects) for a total of 139 prolonged jobs in the Arrowhead Region. The total wages and salaries (including benefits) contributed to the region are expected to be $9.2 million annually.
For more information, read BusinessNorth's article.
Employment Impacts of Heliene’s Expansion in the Minnesota Arrowhead Region
| Total Economic Effects | Employment | Wages and Benefits in millions of 2021 dollars |
|---|---|---|
| From construction (temporary) | 253 | $14.3 |
| From firm's operations (ongoing) | 139 | $9.2 |
| Source: IMPLAN |