Seeds of new solar industry will grow with our help
http://www.zwire.com/site/tab5.cfm?newsid=19730275 [2008-6-27]
Tag : edible seeds
Although Hillsboro has seen the most spectacular additions with the arrival of SolarWorld and the announcement of the creation of SpectraWatt, the rest of the state has had its share too with solar companies investing in Albany, Bend and Portland.
Still, Washington County and specifically Hillsboro, is in the best position to capture the lion’s share of these new companies. Several recruitments are in progress and for some a Hillsboro site is the last Oregon hope. In several lost recruitments, Hillsboro was the only site considered in Oregon, and in one case, we were the last site considered in North America before the company chose to locate off shore. Our early solar successes together with our existing high-tech cluster highlight the important role that the Washington County area plays in the future of solar in Oregon.
The problem is, as you point out in your editorial, providing for the infrastructure needs of this developing industry is an emerging challenge. A number of west side water providers are working on a solution to the water issue. Clean Water Services is also looking at a plan to continue providing waste water treatment. Seemingly, everyone is working on workforce. All of us recognize the difficult challenge of providing workforce and skills training services and multiple groups of certified smart people are working on solutions. The issue that seems to have attracted the least attention is transportation.
Not to say we haven’t talked about transportation and planned around transportation and tried to create some sort of piecemeal funding system to keep the system functioning – because we have. In the Portland area, transportation planners, thinkers and talkers laid end to end could probably provide a replacement span across the Columbia.
Hmm, let’s think about that.
All of that thinking, planning, and talking, however, has not yet focused on one of the most important economic realities for future job growth. Those green collar jobs are already coming and likely will continue to choose either Washington County or other parts of the country and world. They will not come to Washington County if the workers cannot get from their homes to work and if the companies cannot get raw materials in and finished products out of their factories.
It is critical that we get ahead of these economic development opportunities and make investments that support this emerging cluster. Right now no plan is in place to build that much needed capacity.
Today, workers at these new solar plants cannot use transit to get to work and no heavy rail is in place to get containers of finished solar cells or solar panels down to the port for shipment to market. And, a reliable connection between these plants and I-5 to California simply does not exist. Unless we address these problems, our window of opportunity will begin to close on future solar development in the Hillsboro area and with it the best chance for a solar cluster to fully mature in Oregon.
We not only need the necessary funds to solve this problem but also we need to make the strategic and targeted infrastructure investments that will best support our desire to build and grow these new industries.
Although Hillsboro has seen the most spectacular additions with the arrival of SolarWorld and the announcement of the creation of SpectraWatt, the rest of the state has had its share too with solar companies investing in Albany, Bend and Portland.
Still, Washington County and specifically Hillsboro, is in the best position to capture the lion’s share of these new companies. Several recruitments are in progress and for some a Hillsboro site is the last Oregon hope. In several lost recruitments, Hillsboro was the only site considered in Oregon, and in one case, we were the last site considered in North America before the company chose to locate off shore. Our early solar successes together with our existing high-tech cluster highlight the important role that the Washington County area plays in the future of solar in Oregon.
The problem is, as you point out in your editorial, providing for the infrastructure needs of this developing industry is an emerging challenge. A number of west side water providers are working on a solution to the water issue. Clean Water Services is also looking at a plan to continue providing waste water treatment. Seemingly, everyone is working on workforce. All of us recognize the difficult challenge of providing workforce and skills training services and multiple groups of certified smart people are working on solutions. The issue that seems to have attracted the least attention is transportation.
Not to say we haven’t talked about transportation and planned around transportation and tried to create some sort of piecemeal funding system to keep the system functioning – because we have. In the Portland area, transportation planners, thinkers and talkers laid end to end could probably provide a replacement span across the Columbia.
Hmm, let’s think about that.
All of that thinking, planning, and talking, however, has not yet focused on one of the most important economic realities for future job growth. Those green collar jobs are already coming and likely will continue to choose either Washington County or other parts of the country and world. They will not come to Washington County if the workers cannot get from their homes to work and if the companies cannot get raw materials in and finished products out of their factories.
It is critical that we get ahead of these economic development opportunities and make investments that support this emerging cluster. Right now no plan is in place to build that much needed capacity.
Today, workers at these new solar plants cannot use transit to get to work and no heavy rail is in place to get containers of finished solar cells or solar panels down to the port for shipment to market. And, a reliable connection between these plants and I-5 to California simply does not exist. Unless we address these problems, our window of opportunity will begin to close on future solar development in the Hillsboro area and with it the best chance for a solar cluster to fully mature in Oregon.
We not only need the necessary funds to solve this problem but also we need to make the strategic and targeted infrastructure investments that will best support our desire to build and grow these new industries.
Related News »
In Focus »
footwear exports
Last month, European footwear manufacturers proposed extending anti-dumping measures against ..
B2B Keywords:
International market Chinese Importer Wholesale trade Wholesale products World trade Wholesale distributors International trade Foreign trade Wholesale distributor Importers Import export business Sell online Help u sell Global trade How to market a product Online supplier Wholesale product
International market Chinese Importer Wholesale trade Wholesale products World trade Wholesale distributors International trade Foreign trade Wholesale distributor Importers Import export business Sell online Help u sell Global trade How to market a product Online supplier Wholesale product
Feature Products»
Hot Products: A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z | 0-9
-
-
About Us -
Links -
Privacy Policy -
Terms of Use -
Site Map -
Contact Us -
Call Center: 0086-95105561 © 2007 Tootoo.com -
