There are lots of so-called green ideas in play, which could not only live up to their color in terms of better environmental outcomes, but could also spark profitable economic activity.
But many major and minor ideas are having trouble getting financial traction and entrepreneurs in the field say that the failure of green business to spark economic growth in a variety of fields have a common cause, a reluctance to adopt new values by current government leaders.
Solar energy is often cited as a leading economic driver for developing the Hudson Valley economy and indeed solar business is good, said Todd Roberts, president and CEO of Solartech Renewables L.L.C.
Roberts raised some $30 million for his startup company manufacturing silicon solar panels in a 15,000-square-foot production line at Tech City in the town of Ulster, creating 50 manufacturing jobs. Citing a global shortage of solar panels, he said business is so good in this first year of operation that their entire production run is already sold out into next summer and he is seeking an additional $50 million for expanding the production line.
But he said, New York is essentially fumbling a chance to use renewable energy and especially solar power companies to spark economic development. For example, he cited the SREC program, the Solar Renewable Energy Credit programs initiated by New Jersey and several other states, which provide tax credits to businesses and homeowners who install distributed generation energy systems such as solar arrays that provide power to the grid.
New Jersey passed an SREC law in 2009 and in the first six months New Jersey saw a greater volume of solar power installations than New York has installed in its entire solar power programming over the years.
And that was accomplished without allowing the utilities in on the action. Roberts said he expects further solar power growth activity in New Jersey now that their SREC program allows utilities to invest in solar. But as for New York state, he said, the Legislature “just missed” passing an SREC program this year.
In any SREC or similar program, Roberts said, measures should be included to ensure the investment is steered toward domestic manufacturing. He cited the case of Spain, which passed an SREC type bill and had a flood of installations of renewable energy, but said all the solar materials were imported because the Spanish program offered no incentives toward domestic manufacturing. Thus it brought no increase in employment and the Spanish government simply shut down the program.
Additional government aid might help spark the green economy, Roberts said, noting that if he moved his factory to China, they would pay for half the cost of his capital equipment investment. But when the U.S. Department of Energy ran a $3 billion competitive tax credit and grant program, the big winners were BP, headquartered in Britain, and Chinese firms, despite a huge number of applications from U.S.-based companies including Solar Tech Renewables and Fishkill based Spectra-Watt.
“Just in terms of policy objectives, I”™m not sure how the Chinese guys beat the home-grown guys, but that is what happened,” Roberts said.
Banks also have a part to play in stimulating the economy, or letting good ideas smolder on the shelf, said Stanley Kolt, who has 24 patents on energy saving devices as part of his family owned company, Active Ventilation Products in Newburgh. On a recent tour of his facility, he showed off an array of inventions, such as “solar bricks” and solar powered roof ventilators, but says he can”™t get funding to develop them into products. And with a world-weary tone, the septuagenarian said he knows why.
“Nothing will ever get financed if you can”™t put a meter on it . That”™s why we are still buying oil from the Middle East.”
