JACKSON – Mississippi legislators opened their 2011 session Tuesday by passing a $75 million bond bill to provide a loan for a company that wants to manufacture solar panels in Hattiesburg.
Republican Gov. Haley Barbour was expected to sign the bill, which passed the House and Senate.
Mississippi Development Authority officials say the state would spend about $100,000 to issue the bonds.
Stion Corp., based in San Jose, Calif., would repay the $75 million loan, plus interest.
Barbour announced Tuesday that Stion will locate a 100-megawatt solar panel production facility in a Sunbeam building in Hattiesburg.
Officials say the plant could bring as many as 1,000 jobs to south Mississippi over the next six years.
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