The switch has been turned on at a south Merced facility geared toward sparking clean energy sector jobs in the Valley.
Officials with the company Parasol Elite Power held a groundbreaking Tuesday for their new 2050 Wardrobe Ave. headquarters.
The company creates storage systems for solar and other renewable energy purposes. The south Merced site will be an assembly factory for products like battery modules, power conversion systems for utility grids and inverters for residential systems.
During a presentation Tuesday in front of city and elected officials, company officials laid out ambitious plans for the location.
That includes hiring around 200 employees this year, with a goal of more than 1,000 total employees by 2027 – a strategy they say is supported by a $300 million investment from the company and its partners over a period of time.
Phil Levers, Parasol Elite Power’s CEO and co-founder, said the company’s moving forward with renovating the 60,000 square-foot facility.
Once the operation gets up and running, Levers said the building will also be a training facility for employees who will move on to other locations.
“It’s a monumental task, but we can do a lot of things very quickly,” Levers told The Focus, adding that his company will get support from the city and county to find potential employees.
Company officials said they plan to partner with Merced College and UC Merced for internships, mentoring and clean energy curriculum development.
Plus, there are plans to donate a full-scale energy lab to Merced College for training in renewable and emerging technologies.
Company officials pledged to prioritize hiring military veterans looking for work, while putting a premium on hiring people who live locally in the region.
Frank Quintero, Merced’s deputy city manager, said the company was referred to the city by the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz).
Subsequent to that introduction, Quintero said the city had been “nurturing a relationship” with Parasol Elite Power for the past three years, leading up to the company setting up shop locally.
“One of the desires of getting a UC campus, changing the curriculum at Merced College, is growing a partnership where we would bring a bit of the Silicon Valley here to Merced,” Quintero said.
“This is our first real bite at that apple, and it’s what we’ve been dreaming of since UC Merced opened, and now we’re experiencing it, right here within our city limits.”
Rep. Adam Gray, D-Merced, was among the elected officials who gathered for Tuesday’s event. Also in attendance was UC Merced Chancellor Juan Sanchez Munoz, along Merced County CEO Mark Hendrickson, and Merced City Council members Mike Harris and Darin DuPont.
“Manufacturing and production have always been a strength of the San Joaquin Valley and our ag economy. So people talk about bringing it back and we go ‘hey, it’s still here,” Gray said.
“We want to grow more of it, and that’s what we’re here today doing, is new investment from outside the area, and an investment that fits hand-in-glove with the University of California, the young people, getting their education there with the workforce training that’s happening at Merced College.”