A Rockford, Illinois solar-module plant is being opened today, a supplier to the facility says.

New Bedford, Massachusetts solar-manufacturing equipment developer Spire Corp. provided turnkey manufacturing components to Wanxiang Solar, the Chinese panel company that is establishing a presence in Rockford. More than 60 workers will be employed at the company's facility - and the plant could establish Winnebago County as a green jobs hub and help combat Illinois' high unemployment rate.

Wanxiang's factory, Spire Corp. CEO Roger G. Little said, "will create local jobs to help stimulate the U.S. economy, supporting the growth of the photovoltaic industry in the U.S."

The Chinese company, whose U.S. operations are headquartered in Chicago, already has more than 4,000 employees in America. It opted to build a manufacturing facility in Rockford not only because of Rockford's proximity to Chicago - it's located about 80 miles northwest of the city - but because it received $2 million in grants and incentives to keep its plant in Illinois.

The investment, state governor Pat Quinn said in March 2009, "creates important jobs in the renewable energy sector and supports a business that harnesses the sun's power."