A Sault Ste. Marie manufacturer of solar panels and cells is expanding its presence in Minnesota with a planned move into the Twin Cities.
The Twin Cities expansion is on top of boosting production capacity at its anchor Mountain Iron plant on Minnesota’s Iron Range. His introduction to the state came at the behest of late Senator David Tomassoni, who cold-called him one day in April of 2017 about a solar panel manufacturing company that was about to close in this mining city, dubbed the ‘Taconite Capital of the World.’
Last fall, Heliene cut the ribbon on its latest solar panel manufacturing line that boosts plant capacity from 150 megawatts to 300 megawatts. In response, Canada’s Clean Technology Investment Tax Credit, outlined in the federal budget, is basically a “copycat” of the IRA, he said. But with the regulatory details unclear, “nobody knows how it’s going to be achieved.”
But Heliene isn’t putting Sault Ste. Marie entirely in the shade. A plant expansion is getting underway shortly in their hometown, Pochtaruk said.