Site work is under way in Moses Lake, Wash., where REC is constructing a $600- million solar cell plant.

   Not to be outdone, neighboring Washington is making a power play of its own to woo big investments. Earlier this year, state lawmakers reduced the business and occupation tax in Washington, effectively giving the state another new incentive to offer prospective employers.
   It didn't take long for the state to cash in. The largest payoff for Washington came in June, when REC announced it would spend $600 million on its solar cell factory in Moses Lake and add 90 jobs. Later in the year, SEH America announced a $350- million expansion of its silicon wafer plant in Vancouver, where it will add 100 workers.
   "The new incentive was put in place, and the company (SEH America) leveraged its growth off of that," says Juli Wilkerson, director of the Washington State Department of Community, Trade and Economic Development. "We also passed a new bio- fuels bill that was signed by our governor. It requires that 2 percent of the fuel that companies sell by 2008 be either bio- diesel or bio- ethanol.

Juli Wilkerson

As a result, companies are now coming here to start developing bio- diesel and other types of bio- fuels plants."
   Construction recently began in Grays Harbor County, Wash., on the largest bio- diesel plant in the U.S. The $40- million project from Imperium Renewables Inc., the parent company of Seattle Biodiesel, will produce 50 jobs.
   The plant, which will require 350 construction workers to build, will produce up to 100 million gallons of bio- diesel fuel per year from soybeans, canola oil and other extracts. The 540,000- sq.- ft. (50,166- sq.- m.) facility on 12.5 acres (5 hectares) is expected to come on line by mid- 2007.
   Other major investments announced in Washington in 2006 include an $80- million, 90- job Cameron Family Glass Packaging plant in Kalama; a $10- million, 148- employee Railex plant in Walla Walla County; a $130- million, 225- job Cardinal Glass factory in Lewis County; a $35- million, 128- worker Guardian Fiberglass plant in Grant County; and a $60 million, 100- job pharmaceutical plant for Diversified Bio- Medics Inc. in Snohomish.
   Logistics also continues to be a key driver of industrial growth in Washington. Sweden- based IKEA announced in October that it will build an 834,000- sq.- ft. (77,478- sq.- m.) distribution center near the Port of Tacoma. The warehouse will serve IKEA stores in Alberta, British Columbia, Utah, Oregon and Washington.
   The plant will be on 70 acres (28 hectares) in the Frederickson Industrial Area. IKEA reportedly paid $8.6 million for the land.
   "This transaction is much more than putting land into use to create jobs," said Derrick Urquhart, industrial real estate manager at the port. "IKEA will drive a considerable amount of cargo through Tacoma, adding to the Port of Tacoma's significant regional economic impact."
   Projects like this are "an indicator that we have a healthy economy," Wilkerson says. "We have a $1.9 billion surplus in state government this year, and we've added about 100,000 jobs.
   "It is important to note that Washington does not have a personal or corporate income tax," she says. "The cost of doing business in Washington is very competitive. And with our Strategic Reserve Account, businesses can tap into a fund that can close the financial gap if they locate here and add jobs."
   The best is yet to come for Washington, Wilkerson notes. "Microsoft employs 28,000 people here, and they are going to grow their campus by 12,000 employees by 2012. That will make it the largest single company campus in the entire world."