In an announcement aptly made on Earth Day, the largest solar company in Silicon Valley said it had completed a deal to locate a new solar panel manufacturing plant in Milpitas and create 100 new jobs.

The announcement was attended by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who trumpeted the dual-purpose benefits of green jobs.

"I can think of no better way to celebrate Earth Day than to highlight action that is good for both California's environment and its economy. SunPower is not only enabling homes and businesses to conserve energy and save money by going solar, they are also creating jobs at a time when they are needed most," Schwarzenegger said in a press release. "Today's announcement is another example of how our state's nation-leading green policies are encouraging nation-leading green businesses to ramp up investment in California."

The Milpitas factory will run in partnership with Flextronics, an electronics manufacturing services provider. SunPower is buying the equipment, and Flextronics will manufacture the panels. The 54,000-square foot plant will be located at 1177 Gibraltar Dr.

A $1.5 million, three-year loan from Milpitas helped the deal come together. The Silicon Valley/San Jose Business Journal reported that “a suite of federal, state and local incentives that made the deal possible. The company has $24 million in R&D funding from the U.S. Department of Energy through the Solar America initiative. Schwarzenegger in March signed into law SB 71, which frees cleantech companies in California from paying sales taxes on manufacturing equipment that they buy. And Milpitas came up with its loan as well.”

Milpitas Mayor Bob Livengood said the loan was worked out with the City Council, to whom he had gone knowing that San Jose – one of many cities competing for the plant – had the advantage of enterprise zones, and that Mipitas needed way “to level the playing field.”

The plant is expected to be in operation later this year.

For the full story from the Silicon Valley/San Jose Business Journal, click here.

A CBS5 video report on the announcement can be seen by clicking here.

To read the San Francisco Chronicle’s report, click here.

Visit SunPower Corp’s Web site by clicking here.