Veeco Instruments Inc. (Nasdaq: VECO) announced today that its St. Paul operations was awarded $800,000 in matching funds by the Minnesota Department of Commerce's Office of Energy Security provided by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to support emerging renewable energy technology.
The matching funds were awarded for a 1.5 year project that will expedite Veeco's CIGS (copper, indium, gallium, selenium) deposition equipment technology to market. This technology helps solar panel manufacturers to reduce their production costs and increase the feasibility of solar panels as an alternative energy.
According to David Bruns, Senior Vice President of Veeco's Solar Operations, "Veeco will facilitate the development of this critical technology, creating green energy jobs. We would like to acknowledge the integral support of MN District 53B House Representative Carol McFarlane, in addition to MN District 53 Senator Sandy Rummel, MN 4th District Congresswoman Betty McCollum, and other various high-ranking elected government officials. Through visits to Veeco and encouragement of our efforts, they clearly demonstrated their strong support of green energy technology and its advancement in the state of Minnesota."
In total, the state of Minnesota awarded just over $4 million dollars in funding for the Emerging Renewable Energy Industries Grant Program. Veeco's proposal was one of approximately nine selected by the Minnesota Department of Commerce Office of Energy Security (OES) OES-101920009. The purpose of this grant program is to provide funding for a portion of the cost of multiple activities to promote improved economic performance of both the direct recipient and its Minnesota suppliers and customers.