Solar Technology Can Power Economic Development In the Ninth District

This afternoon the House of Representatives approved H.R. 3585, the Solar Technology Roadmap Act, which will strengthen the American solar technology industry through a coordinated research and development program and public-private partnerships.

"Harnessing the power of the sun offers a tremendous economic development opportunity for the Ninth District, with the potential to help create thousands of jobs. Already Sharp Solar employs several hundred Memphians to manufacture solar panels, and the increased funding in this bill could allow them to move forward with their planned expansion," Congressman Cohen said. "Our colleges and universities can compete for funding to research how we can better use solar power to heat and cool, light and power our homes and workplaces. I was pleased to vote for this bill and look forward to the increasing national role that the Ninth District can play in developing the further use of solar technology."

As part of the debate on the legislation, the House accepted an amendment cosponsored by Representatives Cohen, Dina Titus (D-NV), and Harry Teague (D-NM) that would encourage investments in water efficient solar technology. Existing solar technology relies on substantial amounts of water as part of the electricity generation and maintenance process.

"I was pleased that my amendment to this bill was accepted; it will fund solar technology programs that will use water more efficiently. Many of the massive solar farms located in the deserts of the Southwest require hundreds of millions of gallons of water that simply do not exist or can not be spared; as a result, a number of planned solar projects across the nation have been halted or canceled because of this," Congressman Cohen said. "We need alternative fuels and the electricity these solar farms generate, but this is intended to be and environmentally-friendly technology. We can not afford to create one solution and enhance another problem at the same time."

Background

H.R. 3585, the Solar Technology Roadmap Act, authorizes $2.25 billion in federal funding for the U.S. Department of Energy to establish an 11-member Solar Technology Roadmap Committee that would be responsible for creating a roadmap of short-, medium- and long-term goals to provide guidance for federal solar technology activities.

The bill authorizes $300 million in grant funding for research, development and demonstration programs aimed at harnessing solar technology to lower energy costs for consumers - such as increasing the use of solar lighting, hot water, space heating and cooling, and better photovoltaics that can be used in homes, schools and workplaces. Funding can also be used to improve the solar manufacturing process and develop a reuse, recycling and disposal program for solar devices. The grants would be available to colleges and universities, national laboratories, federal and state research agencies, and non-profit organizations.

The legislation also provides funding for competitive grants to create and strengthen solar industry workforce training and internship programs in installation, operation, and maintenance of solar energy products.

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