Suntech Power (STP) first announced it was opening a US solar manufacturing plant back in January and now it’s official.  The company announced on Friday that it has begun production at its new plant in Goodyear, Arizona with an initial capacity of 30MW with a plan to expand to 50MW next year and to 120MW within a few years.

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"Our new U.S. manufacturing plant will provide a local platform to meet the burgeoning demand for solar products in the U.S. and Canadian markets, which we expect to exceed 1 gigawatt (GW) for the first time in 2010," Steven Chan, president of Suntech America, said in a statement.

Shares of STP are soaring today in part due to an upgrade at Collins Stewart.