A new solar panel factory will be constructed in Aurora, Colorado, according to General Electric, the company building the plant. About 355 jobs will be brought to the area with the building of the factory.

The company said the plant will be running in 2012 with its products being commercially available in 2013. There will be enough photovoltaic solar panels made at the Colorado plant each year to generate 400 megawatts of power, enough for 80,000 homes in the United States. GE said it plans on investing $300 million in this factory, which brings the total amount of money the company has invested in solar power to $600 million.

"We want this to be a multibillion segment in GE," Victor Abate, who leads GE's renewable energy business, told the Wall Street Journal."It's going to be a build-out cycle over the next several years."

Abate said the Colorado location will allow the company to deliver the solar panels more quickly, adding that the company has been able to heighten its efficiency in working with the Colorado-based solar power team.