Tom Werner

SunPower would have walked away from its deal to buy the SolarWorld factory in Hillsboro if the California company hadn't won an exemption from tariffs on solar panels it imports from the Philippines and Malaysia.

The long-sought tariff relief arrived last month, and SunPower closed the deal Tuesday. The tariffs would have cost SunPower as much as $2 million a week, according to chief executive Tom Werner, money that will now help pay for upgrades to accommodate production of the company's advanced solar panels.

"It would be fair to call it a game-changer for SunPower," Werner said Wednesday during a visit to the Hillsboro factory.

The plant's fate had been in doubt for more than a year after SolarWorld's German parent declared itself insolvent amid intense pressure from imported solar panels from China. The factory, which once employed more than 800, now has a little more than 200 remaining workers.

Installation of new equipment begins this month, though, and Werner said production of a new class of more advanced, efficient solar panels will begin early next year. He said the operation will be fully ramped up in late 2019.

"I would expect in a year we (will) have more people here than we do now, and perhaps significantly more," Werner said. He said SunPower could add approximately 100 jobs as production volumes increase.

The factory will take the SunPower name, and most of the old SolarWorld signs have already come down. The company had previously indicated it could spend as much as $15 million on plant upgrades; it declined Wednesday to provide an updated figure.

Meanwhile, SunPower and the entire domestic solar industry continues to struggle with the complicated trade landscape. Solar panels from China face new tariffs, but raw materials used to make panels here also cost more because of other new tariffs.

But Werner said the outlook for the Hillsboro factory is better than it has been in some time: "There's some great talent here. We're optimistic about winning."

-- Mike Rogoway | twitter: @rogoway | 503-294-7699