Financial thoughts

Six Colorado companies will receive $75,239,310 in tax credits under the federal economic stimulus program for clean-energy manufacturing projects, officials said Friday.

The Colorado companies receiving the credits are Abound Solar, Advanced Energy Industries, Coolerado Corp., Hexcel Corp., ReflecTech Inc. and Vestas, with Vestas receiving by far the largest pool of credits.

They are among 183 companies nationwide that are getting $2.3 billion in tax credits from the U.S. Department of Energy under the stimulus, formally known as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

The companies chosen say they will create more than 17,000 jobs.

The investment tax credits are worth up to 30 percent of each planned project, and are intended to leverage private capital for a total investment of nearly $7.7 billion, officials said.

“The world urgently needs to move toward clean energy technologies, and the United States has the opportunity to lead in this new industrial revolution,” U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu in a statement Friday. “Today’s awards will create new jobs and jumpstart the industries we need to both solve the energy problem and ensure America’s future competitiveness.”

“The Recovery Act is giving a much-needed boost to Colorado companies that are creating jobs and helping to drive the New Energy Economy,” Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter said in the statement. “These tax credits will help our companies grow and keep Colorado on the road to economic recovery.”

Ritter’s office released these details of the local recipients and the amount of credits:

• Abound Solar in Longmont, $12.6 million — Abound Solar will expand facility capacity with an additional manufacturing line. This facility will be solely dedicated to commercial production of photovoltaic (PV) solar panels using cadmium telluride semiconductor technology.

• Advanced Energy Industries in Fort Collins, $1 payday loans guaranteed no fax.2 million — Advanced Energy Industries plans to establish a manufacturing facility for the production of commercial and utility-scale solar inverters. Inverters are used to integrate solar PV installations.

• Coolerado Corp. in Denver, $750,000 — Coolerado will manufacture commercial and residential air conditioning units that use a heat exchanger incorporating an innovative thermodynamic cycle to cool the air. The patented process creates a healthier, more comfortable living environment while significantly reducing energy costs.

• ReflecTech in Arvada, $750,000 — ReflecTech will manufacture Mirror Facets made with ReflecTech Mirror Film which will reflect sunlight onto the receivers of Parabolic Trough Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) collector systems. Facets will match or exceed the optical and structural characteristics of the existing glass mirrors, but will aim to be more cost-efficient and durable. The end product will aid domestic solar power production.

• Hexcel Corp. in Windsor, $8.1 million — Hexcel Corp., a Vestas supplier, will establish a technologically advanced manufacturing facility to produce high-performance epoxy, glass, and carbon fiber composite materials. The composites will be used in the manufacture of wind turbine blades.

• Vestas: The credits are split among two units of the company: Vestas Blades America Inc. in Brighton, $30.2 million — Vestas Blades produces blades for wind turbines used in the production of wind energy. The utility-scales blades, which convert wind into mechanical motion, are approximately 44 meters in length. And Vestas Towers America Inc. in Pueblo, $21.6 million — Vestas Towers will produce tubular wind towers that support wind turbines at heights ranging from between 80 and 95 meters above ground.

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