A U.S.-based microgrid company is stepping up to help its home state of Texas expand its already robust function as a center link in the domestic microgrid and solar thermal supply chain.
ELM Microgrid and ELM Solar opened their new manufacturing and distribution facility Thursday in the Dallas suburb of The Colony, Texas. The 125,000-square-foot facility will be home to microgrid and solar thermal technology design, manufacturing, and logistics.
The new factory, coupled with ELM’s manufacturing site in nearby Oklahoma, will help the company increase its production line to about 1,000 microgrids annually. ELM also is moving its UK partner Naked Energy’s Virtu solar thermal technology manufacturing operations into The Colony site.
“By leveraging innovative technologies and a talented workforce, we aim to meet the growing demand for common-sense, resilient energy solutions and drive the energy economy that Texas is world famous for,” ELM Companies Founder and Chairman Lee C. Graves said in a statement celebrating the grand opening.
ELM also unveiled its second-generation battery energy storage system (BESS) during the event opening of the Texas manufacturing site. The facility initially creates work for 70 jobs and plans to more than double that total soon.
Among ELM’s microgrid and solar customers have included the city of Chattanooga, Tennessee, the Highbourne Cay Resort in the Bahamas, and Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska. One of the tactical reasons for locating the manufacturing site in the nation’s center is to shorten the supply chain for future commercial and industry microgrid customers.
“We believe that American manufacturing is not just about producing goods; it’s about investing in our communities, empowering our workforce and driving sustainable economic growth,” Aron Bowman, president of ELM Microgrid and ELM Solar, said. “By establishing our cutting-edge facility in Texas, we reaffirm our dedication to American innovation and the importance of local manufacturing in shaping a resilient and prosperous future.”
Texas tops the nation among states for microgrid installations, according to multiple reports. In addition, last year Texas voters approved a $10 billion energy resiliency bill that includes about $1.8 billion for microgrids and aggregated distributed energy resources.
Parent company ELM Companies, which is based in Illinois, was started in 1998 and offers services not only in microgrids and solar but also utility services and cloud-based utility mapping.
The onshoring incentives of the U.S. Infrastructure and Inflation Reduction Acts has led numerous clean energy companies to begin locating manufacturing and distribution facilities nationwide.
