Schwarzenegger: Solar and other clean-technologies are a bright spot in dark economy
Acknowledging the dark clouds of the economy, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in Silicon Valley on Thursday pointed to clean-technology, and solar specifically, as offering a solution, even a salvation.
"We all know we're going through tough economic times right now, but that's no reason to slow down when it comes to protecting our environment and investing in clean, green technologies," Schwarzenegger said. Clean-technology businesses are getting venture capital dollars and hiring new employees at a time when nearly every other segment of the economy is lagging, he said.
Schwarzenegger dedicated a 2.1-megawatt solar installation at Applied Materials' Sunnyvale campus, speaking to several hundred employees in front of a parking-lot array of 7,000 solar panels. A few minutes later, he went inside to speak to a smaller crowd attending a green-technology event sponsored by TechNet, a high-tech lobbying group.
"This is the new face of solar power, parking lots becoming power plants and solar panels incorporated into the middle of our urban landscape," said Mike Splinter, Applied Materials' president and chief executive officer.
The solar system will generate about 5 percent of the power that Applied Materials uses at that site, said Mark Pinto, the company's senior vice president and general manager of its energy and environmental solutions division. It would provide a greater percentage of power at a typical Silicon Valley office, he said, but
In fact, the solar system is the largest such corporate installation in the United States, the company said. Schwarzenegger noted that it generates enough electricity to power about 1,500 California homes.
Since it covers a parking lot, it provides shade for about 450 employee cars. "A brilliant idea," Schwarzenegger said.
Applied Materials moved into the solar market in 2006, selling panel-making equipment to the world's solar industry. Now, it represents about 10 percent of the company's revenues, and that's projected to grow to 20 to 25 percent of its business, or $2.5 billion to $3.5 billion, by 2010, Pinto said.
The parking-lot solar system, which tracks the sun throughout the day, offers both functional and symbolic evidence of Silicon Valley's growing clean-tech industry. Applied Materials bought the panels from SunPower, the San Jose company that used Applied's machines to make the panels.
The system will pay for itself in seven to 10 years.
In his remarks to the TechNet audience, the governor contrasted California's environmental leadership with the lack of direction from the federal government. State measures such as the landmark Assembly bill that regulates greenhouse-gas emissions, the low-carbon fuel standard, the Million Solar Roofs act and mandates for renewable power wouldn't have been needed here if the federal government had adopted similar measures.
"In Washington, we have not seen much leadership," he said. But, without naming either candidate, Schwarzenegger said he expected more progress whether Republican Sen. John McCain or Democratic Sen. Barack Obama is elected.
In fact, he said in pointing to a recent study, if the United States would adopt California's environmental regulations, it would create 4.2 million green jobs nationwide.
"We should not be afraid of the environmental challenges we're taking on," he said.
