The Spanish company Abengoa Solar will benefit from US government investments intended to further alternative energy and create new jobs, US President Barack Obama said Saturday, dpa reported.
Abengoa Solar and the Colorado-based Abound Solar Manufacturing will receive a total of 2 billion dollars in commitments, Obama said in his weekly radio address.
Abengoa Solar's Arizona plant, "one of the largest solar plants in the world," will create 1,600 construction jobs, Obama noted, in addition to the permanent jobs in running the plant. The plant will be the first large-scale solar plant in the country to store the energy it creates for later use, Obama noted.
"After years of watching (US) companies build things and create jobs overseas, it's good news that we've attracted a company to our shores to build a plant and create jobs right here in America," Obama said.
The announcement followed a less-than-optimistic jobs report on Friday that showed the growth of new private sector jobs has practically stalled.
Construction of Abound Solar Manufacturing plants to produce advanced solar panels in Colorado and Indiana will spawn more than 2,000 construction jobs and 1,500 permanent jobs, Obama noted.