Austin Tech Jobs Created by SunPower

One company is planning to use millions of dollars in state funding to create hundreds of Austin tech jobs and other positions.

State officials recently announced that the Texas Enterprise Fund will invest $2.5 million in SunPower Corporation so the company can open a new operations center in Austin. The project will create 450 new jobs and generate about $10 million for the local economy.

"This TEF investment in SunPower will create hundreds of jobs and pump millions of dollars in capital investment into the Central Texas economy," Gov. Rick Perry said. "The Texas Enterprise Fund, along with our state's low taxes, reasonable and predictable regulatory climate and skilled workforce, continues to attract companies like SunPower that are looking for an environment where they can grow and create quality jobs."

SunPower Corporation designs, manufactures, and delivers solar technology throughout the world for residential, commercial, and utility power plant customers. The new operations center will house the company's marketing, legal, finance, and accounting departments.

"We applaud Gov. Perry, Mayor (Lee) Leffingwell and state and city officials who are aggressively working to offer SunPower economic incentives to expand our operations to Austin and create hundreds of jobs," SunPower CEO Tom Werner said. "Texas has great potential to become a significant solar market. If policies creating a stable solar market across Texas are enacted, this commitment by SunPower could be the start of significantly more investment and job creation in the state by the rapidly growing solar industry."

SunPower Corporation currently has operations in North America, Europe, and Asia.