NORTH PORTLAND, OR—Solar panel manufacturer SoloPower will celebrate the grand opening of its $340 million assembly plant here today. The facility will employ 90 people by the end of the year.

HENDERSON, NC—Semprius Inc. will open its first solar panel assembly plant here this month, creating some 250 jobs.

ALBUQUERQUE, NM—McCune Solar Works is in the final stages of negotiations to assume operations of the former Schott Solar assembly plant here. McCune plans to resume production at the plant next year, employing 130.

FREMONT, CA—Silevo Inc. has created a new solar cell that is more than 21 percent efficient converting sunlight into electricity.

Volkswagen Group of America’s Chattanooga, TN, plant is well-known for being the first automotive manufacturing plant in the world to receive Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) platinum certification from the U.S. Green Building Council in December 2011.

AKRON, OH—Researchers at Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. have discovered that using soybean oil in tires can increase tread life by 10 percent and reduce the tiremaker’s use of petroleum by 7 million gallons each year.

SMYRNA, TN—Nissan’s automotive assembly plant here has earned ISO 50001 certification for leadership in energy management.

EL SEGUNDO, CA—Cereplast Inc. has developed a new bio-plastic that retains its structural properties at temperatures greater than 165 F.

AKRON, OH—Goodyear researchers have found that using soybean oil in tires can potentially increase tread life by 10 percent and reduce the tiremaker’s use of petroleum by up to 7 million gallons each year.

DEARBORN, MI—Drivers of the Ford Escape may be surprised to find out there is a plant inside the door. As part of its overall effort to make vehicles more sustainable, Ford is making the vehicle’s door bolster from the fibers of the kenaf plant.