In its heyday, Diven was canning tomatoes and other products and employed about 62 workers. The space is about 50,000 square feet. The plant closed in 1998 after food prices went up.

Richard Jensen, Diven’s owner, has “heartland” written all over him. Hamilton and Jones bring me over to the cannery after we leave the golf course. Jensen meets us outside wearing an old trucker hat, flannel shirt, and dusty jeans. He drives a big truck. But there’s something in his eyes that screams, “Don’t underestimate me.”

Within a few minutes, Jensen and Jones are talking shop in the Diven office. Jones has a company, a product, and a dream.

“I want this train track out here to be shipping solar modules every day, built by an American workforce,” says Jones. Jensen nods along. The issue is obviously important to the two of them.

Jones, however, is not an American by birth. He was raised in England. But hearing him speak about the importance of an American manufacturing industry, about taking jobs back from India, and about breathing life into the town, you wouldn’t know it—that is, if you can ignore his accent.

“I figure, you guys gave me a green card, so it’s time I put it to good use,” Jones jokes.

Jensen was born and raised in Fowler. He married into the cannery, and now, he uses the facility as a storage space. There’s a few campers parked, chairs for the local school, and a 1913 fire truck the town uses for parades.

“We used to be a family business,” says Jensen. “But we ran out of family.”

Despite Jensen’s folksy manner, he has an analytical mind under that dusty hat. As Jones passes him brochures outlining concentrated photovoltaic technology, which Jones hopes to build in Fowler one day, Jensen asks technical questions about some of the modules. Turns out, Jensen worked on airborne radar systems for Texas Instruments before he ran the cannery. He knows this stuff.

Snider, the town administrator, shows up along with a few of Vibrant’s installers who are in town, and the group tours the cannery.

“The potential is huge for Fowler,” said Snider a few days later. “At full strength, they could employ 400 people, which would be huge for the valley.”

Story continues here.

Pictured: The Diven cannery, which closed in 1998. The facility could provide the surrounding area with hundred of jobs if Helios secures the funds to build there.