The Solar Energy Industries Association is calling on the federal government to back a plan to put the US back at the forefront of the booming worldwide solar industry.
Modeled after successful strategies in California, Japan, and Germany, "Our Solar Future: The U.S. Photovoltaic Industry Roadmap for 2005 and Beyond" identifies the necessary steps to cut the cost of solar electricity, spur the growth of markets, and generate solar jobs for a quarter of a million Americans.
"California’s leadership and forward-thinking policies have created the largest solar market in the US, and the third largest solar market in the world," said Chris O’Brien, President, Solar Energy Industries Association and Vice President, Sharp Solar USA. "We need similar leadership and vision on a national level."
The U.S. solar industry is losing ground to Europe and Asia. While the size of the global solar industry has increased 10-fold in the past 8 years, and solar prices are down more than 95% since 1978, the U.S. experienced its first decline in solar manufacturing in 2003.
"This roadmap outlines policies that will produce 250,000 high-quality jobs," said Rhone Resch, Executive Director of the Solar Energy Industries Association. "We now have a choice: do we create those jobs in the US, or do we watch them go overseas to Japan and Germany?"
Our Solar Power Future was drafted by leading solar experts in industry, government and academia, and was unveiled in San Francisco at Solar Power 2004, the largest business-to-business and business-to-consumer solar expo and conference ever in the U.S.
To obtain a summary and full version of the roadmap:
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