11-02-2025
Convalt sued by Jefferson County Industrial Development Agency over unpaid $1.05 million loan
Feb. 10—WATERTOWN — The Jefferson County Industrial Development Agency has filed a lawsuit against Convalt Energy for failing to pay a $1,050,00 loan.
On Monday, the JCIDA filed papers in state Supreme Court on the $1.05 million lawsuit alleging that Convalt failed to pay back a loan for constructing a 300,000-square-foot solar manufacturing plant on land that the economic development agency owns near the Watertown International Airport in the town of Hounsfield.
In November, the JCIDA and Convalt parted ways after the company failed to fulfill its obligations on a land development agreement to build on the 88-acre site on Route 12F.
According to the court papers, Convalt has defaulted on the loan.
Marshall Weir, the JCIDA's CEO, declined to comment on the legal action against the company.
"I really can't say anything at this point," he said.
The JCIDA board talked about the lawsuit during a lengthy executive session at Thursday's February meeting.
Contacted by phone on Monday afternoon, company president Hari Achuthan declined to comment, saying he was unaware the lawsuit was filed.
"I have no idea," he said. "Maybe they did. I don't know. They did not notify us."
According to court papers, Convalt failed to pay on the construction costs at the site, legal fees, costs and disbursements, "despite demands" by the JCIDA.
The legal papers list Convalt Energy, Convalt Manufacturing LLC, Acco Investment Group and Achuthan as defendants.
The JCIDA has learned that Achuthan is now seeking to build the solar manufacturing plant in Colorado Springs. Six weeks ago, Convalt was awarded $6.25 million in funding from the Colorado Economic Development Commission to build the plant there.
Achuthan has promised to pay back the loan to the JCIDA.
The project was once billed as the largest economic development project in Jefferson County's history. The JCIDA board decided in November not to renew the land development agreement after continued delays.
Plans were announced in February 2021 for Convalt, then a New York City-based renewable energy company, to invest $650 million in the project that would manufacture solar panels, initially creating hundreds of jobs but projected to employ thousands over time. A sister company, DigiCollect, would also build a facility in the airport industrial park.
Achuthan has blamed a glut of solar products into the U.S. from China and deep cuts in product prices, harming the feasibility of the large project. He has also indicated that it was taking more time to obtain financing for the project.
