Colorado is in the running for a 600-job, solar-panel manufacturing plant, a panelist said Friday at a Denver economic-development conference.
Corporate site-selection adviser Angelos Angelou said Colorado is among as many as a dozen states that the unnamed solar manufacturer is considering for the plant.
But Colorado is well-situated to compete for the plant, Angelou said, because of the state’s renewable-power mandate, its advocacy for wind and solar manufacturing, and its stature in research and development for renewable energy.
Angelou, principal executive officer of Austin, Texas-based Angelou-Economics, is representing the company in its site-selection process. He said the company is based in a foreign country, although he offered no additional details.
The panel manufacturer is expected to issue a request for proposals within the next few weeks to economic-development entities in several states.
Angelou was one of 10 panelists speaking at a site-selection conference sponsored by the Metro Denver Economic Development Corp.
Discussion focused prominently on state economic-development incentives. Panelists were split on the importance of state funding in attracting new business.
Colorado has among the nation’s smallest budgets for financial incentives, relying instead on quality of life, its educated workforce, and research and development.
“How are Colorado’s incentives viewed? Frankly, not well,” said panelist Kathy Mussio, managing partner of site-selection firm Atlas Insight in New Jersey. “We would give Colorado a D-plus, maybe a C-minus. Incentives can be a huge differentiator.”
Site-selection analyst Eva Laurence of Ernst & Young said incentives are effective economic development tools, even as she noted that some cities and states are limiting their use.
“Some states are getting rid of tax incentives entirely,” she said. “They say, ‘Does this really make sense?’ Here in Denver, you have a really good quality of life and quality of workforce. You just need to advertise that more.”
Steve Raabe: 303-954-1948 or sraabe@denverpost.com
This article has been corrected in this online archive. Site-selection specialist Eva Laurence said that incentives are effective economic development tools, but noted that some cities and states are limiting their use.
