Wrecking ball swings at Frederick solar plant
Monday - 1/14/2013, 12:32pm ET
FREDERICK, Md. - A landmark solar panel plant in Frederick is being dismantled.
The Frederick News-Post ( http://bit.ly/WWitYQ) reports that demolition began Friday of the former BP Solar plant along Interstate 70.
Owner Bristol Capital Corp. says the site will become a business park
The building had a large array of solar panels facing the highway. It was erected in 1981 by locally based Solarex.
Solarex became the nation's largest, domestically owned solar-cell producer by 1994. It had 500 workers producing solar panels.
Solarex was acquired by Amoco, which sold a half-interest to Enron Corp in 1995. BP acquired both companies a few years later.
BP found it cheaper to shift production overseas and focus on solar installation. It closed the plant in 2010.
___
Information from: The Frederick (Md.) News-Post, http://www.fredericknewspost.com
(Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
