Oct 30, 2007 10:38 pm US/Eastern
Solar Energy Has A Sunny Future In Mass.
by Mish Michaels
CAMBRIDGE (WBZ) ―
The swimmers at MIT's alumni pool probably don't realize some of the energy running the facility is coming from on top of the roof, created by these brand-new solar panels
"Interest is quite high, phenomenal," said Paul Lyons of Zapotec Energy in Cambridge.
Lyons can't build these systems fast enough. He says traditional sources of electricity are getting more expensive, and more people are concerned about the environment.
"We are actually using nuclear energy from the sun that came off the surface of the sun 8 minutes ago," Lyons said. "There is no burning of fossil fuels, there is no pollution."
"And while that argument has won over environmentalists through the years, solar power has never been feasible on a wide scale. But now technology created right here in Massachusetts could make solar's future a little sunnier.
Evergreen Solar in Marlboro has a developed a new way to process silicon, a key component in solar panels.
Demand is through the roof, and Evergreen plans to add another factory, with hundreds of new workers, next year in Devens. Rick Feldt is the company president.
"There is more demand than there is supply, so for us specifically, we sell two-thirds of our output to Europe," Feldt said. "It would be nice to sell more of it here in the United States."
The Patrick administration agrees. Here in Massachusetts, it has set targets to increase the consumption of solar power, such as at a dorm at Tufts. And it wants to use the state's brainpower to recruit more businesses.
"We think that it's absolutely consistent with the innovation history that Massachusetts is well known for," Lt. Gov. Tim Murray said.
And that's why buildings using solar power are going to become more common.
For more information go to:
www.dsireusa.org www.energytaxincentives.org www.clean-power.com/sharp
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