Solar Center to be based in Silicon Valley

[tag-tec]Solar energy[/tag-tec] takes center stage this week in Silicon Valley as a new effort is launched to bring high tech research, jobs , and consumer awareness of solar energy issues to the public.

Hoping to cement the Bay Area’s lead as a solar energy center, an alliance of industrial, academic and policy leaders will unveil an organization today, SolarTech, aimed in part at helping homeowners finance solar arrays and at training workers to install them.

“It’s the Wild West out there in solar right now,” said Leadership Group energy director Justin Bradley, who helped pull together today’s summit and SolarTech.

“We could need 20,000 to 40,000 workers in the Bay Area alone,” said Tom McCalmont, chief executive of REgrid Power, a member of the consortium based in Cupertino CA.

The consortium hopes to set up training programs for solar installers at Junior Colleges in the area, help streamline government permit processes, and promote use of solar technology in consumer and business applicaitons.

Solar Tech has produced a White Paper on the objectives for creating a “Solar Center For Excellence”. It can be read at theSolar Tech web site

Seems like a good place to start such an organizations since California has sun, technology, brains, and tends to lead the nation in ideas. This one is important since we face such critical energy issues. These companies should be commended for this effort.