Austin could gain more than 500 new jobs with proposals by a Chinese solar energy company that is considering building a $20.7 million manufacturing plant here and by Facebook to open a sales office here.

Gov. Rick Perry announced the Facebook proposal this morning, and said the state would provide $1.4 million in incentives, conditioned on the approval of local incentives.

Facebook, the top social networking site, would create a 200-employee sales and operations center in Austin, with about 180 of those jobs filled locally. The average wage would be $54,000 a year.

The city is proposing an incentives package totaling $200,000, tied to job creation targets, said Brian Gildea, Austin’s economic development manager.

The city also is proposing property tax breaks for Yingli Green Energy Associates, which is considering Austin for a solar-panel manufacturing plant that would create more than 300 jobs. Austin also would become Yingli’s U.S. headquarters.

Yingli, the U.S. subsidiary of a large Chinese solar-energy company, would get 80-percent property tax breaks for 10 years under an incentives offer from the City of Austin.

The company also has received preliminary approval for a federal clean-energy grant, said Dave Porter, senior vice president for economic development at the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce.

Yingli also is considering Phoenix, Ariz., Porter said. The company needs to choose a site by March 15 in order to qualify for the federal grant.

The Yingli jobs range from 245 manufacturing workers who would make $13.50 an hour to 45 staffers at $50,000 a year and 2 executives at $125,000 a year.

The City Council will have public briefings on both proposals next month, with public hearings and votes to follow on March 11.

Details on both proposals are on the city’s Web site, at http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/

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