Manner Polymers opens first all solar powered facility in Southern Illinois
MOUN VERNON, Ill. (KBSI) –A modern green facility is set to start production in Southern Illinois.
Manner Polymers the facility is the first of its kind and is projected to have big impacts economically.
In a big win for Southern Illinois’s manufacturing sector and clean energy and economy it’s the first facility to be a PVC compounding plant, that’s 100% ran off of solar and according to Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, this is the first in the entire country.
“This is the power that helps us become transformational in terms of our economic opportunity in the area, growth that will help us bring high paying jobs, quality jobs to local residents, growth that’s going to help us fortify our community’s growth” says Pritzker. “It allows future generations to continue living and working and raising their families right here.”
The 108,000 square foot plant is located on a 30-acre site in Mount Vernon Illinois. The plant uses onsite solar energy generation to run and produces flexible pvc compounds used in electric cars and various other things. The plant will bring about 60 jobs to the area.
The plant is powered completely by a roof mounted solar array and a 15-acre solar field and 54-million-dollar investment.
Manner Polymers CEO Raj Bhargava says this project took years of preparation.
“What we have here is unquestionably the most advanced manufacturing facility in our industry” says Bhargava. “It’s taken us years of planning, years of construction, and a whole lot of money to get to this point.”
The plant is set to open summer 2025.
