With or without federal tech hub funding, First Solar Inc. plans to continue its growth trajectory in research and production in the Toledo area, local plant manager Jason Mesteller said Tuesday.
Asked if the Northwest Ohio Innovation Consortium’s failure to win tech hub designation was a setback to First Solar’s R&D plans, Mr. Mesteller said it wasn’t.
“For us, we have plans and we’ve been doing innovation in northwest Ohio for many, many years,” he said. “So we’ll just continue to invest in that effort and drive research and development in the area.”
The one silver lining is that consortium members plan to continue to meet and work together, including to compete for a state innovation hub competition that will award a total of $125 million. That request for proposal is due by the end of the year.
