Hearing: Solar Energy Technology and Clean Energy Jobs


I am Jeff Wolfe, co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of groSolar. I am also the elected Chair of the Photovoltaic Division of the Solar Energy Industries Association, founding Board Member of several renewable energy associations, and a Registered Professional Engineer with a Mechanical Engineering degree from Cornell University.

groSolar is one of the nation’s largest residential solar installation companies, the largest 100% US owned distributor of solar electric systems, and an installer of large commercial solar electric systems. We were founded in 1998, in Vermont, and now directly operate in 12 states and the District of Columbia, and provide distribution services to most of the other states.

I came here today to speak about solar energy. Solar energy is one of those unusual technologies that can solve a bunch of problems at once. Since I started groSolar 11 years ago with my wife, the technology has been able to provide American-made energy, decrease our dependence on foreign oil, increase our national security, reduce pollution, and fight climate change. And while it is doing all those things, it is also creating jobs, good jobs. Each Megawatt of solar photovoltaic systems deployed annually in the US creates 25 jobs. And most of those jobs are impossible to send offshore, since they are on the ground and on the roof, installing and selling the systems. And it’s simply hard to install solar panels in this country unless you are in this country.

As an example, while groSolar is small in terms of businesses in the US, groSolar’s overall territory includes Direct Jobs in over a third of the states represented by members of this Committee. When added with Indirect jobs, groSolar has created jobs in California, Delaware, New jersey, Maryland, Vermont, Minnesota, Rhode Island, New Mexico, Oregon, New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Idaho, Missouri, and Tennessee. Looking beyond groSolar, every state represented here has multiple solar energy companies in it. Solar is one renewable energy source that can provide jobs and economic benefit to every state in the Union.

It is a difficult time for small business in America. It is difficult to get credit and financing for projects and working capital. But with the incentives put in place under the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act and other recent legislation, we are not only retaining existing jobs, we and other solar companies are helping to create new jobs. The ARRA funding for state Energy Programs has injected new life into many states, and created solar programs where little existed before. The funding for public works projects also has created good business opportunities. And most importantly, the Federal Grant in lieu of the solar Investment Tax Credit has been fundamental in moving solar projects forward in 2009 and now in 2010. And while we create jobs, we are also securing our longer term future. Stable energy prices are an important element of economic stability, and solar provides long term stable prices.

But we need to do more. The 10 Million Solar Roofs bill, recently introduced by Chairman Sanders, would help homeowners and small businesses stabilize their energy costs by defraying enough of the cost of a solar electric or solar hot water system to allow the business to fund the rest with cash flow similar to their electric bill, resulting in potential reductions in their energy costs. This type of program has been proven in CA with their Million Solar Roof program. Rolling it out nationwide will create jobs in every congressional district, create secure, reliable and clean distributed energy, and move us forward with the smart grid.

One of the successes of the California Million Solar Roofs program has been a reduction in the cost of solar. The installed cost is falling dramatically (over 35% in 2009 alone), and unlike fossil and nuclear technologies which have received large incentives for decades, solar actually foresees a time, in this decade, when we will require no subsidies from the federal government. The national 10 Million Solar Roof bill will allow scale to occur in solar in many locations. This will drive down the costs of installation, while at the same time stimulating demand, which drives up innovation, which again drives down prices.

It is a difficult time in the US economy. Homeowners and small businesses feel a particular hurt, as many of us ‘did nothing wrong’, but appear to be bearing the brunt of the burden for paying for the problems caused by large banks. There are several items which could assist this class of Americans while also creating immediate jobs.

• First and foremost is to extend the Federal grant option of the solar Investment Tax Credit. This program has been tremendously helpful in allowing small businesses to buy solar energy systems, at a time when getting bank financing for those projects would have been impossible.  Since it appears that the banks still do not have sufficient tax capacity to meet the needs, extending this grant in lieu of tax credit for 2 years, through 2012, will continue to create solar jobs, at no added cost to the government.
• Second, we request that the tax credit for any solar installed on a residence be expanded to 50% of the cost of the eligible solar energy system. Homeowners are most in need of assistance to stabilize their monthly bills. This provides an economic benefit to a very broad range of working Americans, which continues to assist the homeowner for more than 25 years, stabilizing and reducing their energy bills helping the homeowner continue to make their mortgage payments.
• Third, and last, is to open up the ability to finance smaller projects as part of the proposed Green Energy Bank. Giving large banks the ability to lend has not created within them the desire to lend. Thus, we ask that the government step in and set up a lending organization. Strikingly, the existing programs that the Export / Import Bank is able to undertake for US solar companies selling product overseas, if made available for projects in the US, would do a lot to spur domestic manufacturing and job creation than any other program. These loan programs would be provided by domestic banks in normal times, but these are not normal times. Thus, some method to drive lending to the small business level is critical.

In summary, solar technology is ready now. It works in every state in our great country, and provides reliable, clean, and secure US made energy. More solar implementation will quickly create more US jobs. Implementation of a National 10 Million Solar Roofs bill, the no-cost tax changes I have discussed, and a solid ability for small businesses to borrow money would create jobs Americans need, and it would create many of them in 2010.

Thank you for your time and attention.

Our friends over at 350.org have done a great job with the grassroots effort to get people to take action on climate change to bring us back down to the magical number of 350 parts per million of carbon in our atmosphere. They have created some cool videos to recap the year. We really liked one in particular but you can see all of the videos here.

Our very own Jeff Wolfe was named one of the Top 12 Clean Tech Twitterer’s (or is it Tweeters) by BostInnovation. Check out the article here.

And of course, follow Jeff on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/jeff_grosolar

Watching world leaders speaking at COP15 Plenary. One thing is crystal clear. 95% of world leaders believe that climate change is not only real, but is a grave threat to the world. If wide public opinion in the US does not change, the American public will find itself ostracized on the world stage.

The Solar Bill of Rights, introduced by SEIA’s Rhone Resch at Solar Power International ‘09 in October, is gaining traction. Follow the link to the website to sign the Solar Bill of Rights.

http://www.solarbillofrights.org/

December 15, 2009

The Honorable Barack Obama

President

The White House

1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW

Washington, DC 20500

Dear Mr. President:

We are major U.S.-based companies, many of which are attending COP-15, urging your leadership in helping to secure a robust international agreement now to address global climate change.  This agreement has to include significant near- and long-term emissions reductions targets and strong finance provisions, with a substantial commitment of new long-term finance from developed nations, including the United States, following on the “fast start” commitments that already have been made.  Such provisions also should consist of a structure for the long term and should leverage private sector investments.  An international agreement also must facilitate clean technology development and transfer, with appropriate intellectual property protections.  Such an agreement will provide the market certainty that will unleash the investments needed to create jobs and enhance U.S. competitiveness.

We must put the United States on the path to significant emissions reductions, a stronger economy, and a new position of leadership in the global effort to stabilize our climate.  The costs of inaction far outweigh the costs of action.  Our environment and economy are at stake.  In addition, millions of people in developing and low-lying nations are at risk from climate and related economic dislocations, which further pose geopolitical threats.  These factors highlight the urgency for the Administration to achieve a global deal in the coming days that moves us ever closer toward a legally-binding agreement that will protect us and future generations.

Many businesses are doing their part by creating innovative technologies and reducing their carbon footprints, as well as implementing complementary efficiency and renewable energy measures.  However, a “sufficiently ambitious, effective and globally equitable deal [is essential to] create the conditions for transformational change in our economy and deliver the economic signals that companies need,” if they are to invest in a low carbon future.[1]

The urgency to act is clear and the need for strong leadership is paramount.  We pledge to support your leadership efforts in helping secure a strong global agreement.  Moreover, businesses should provide input into the negotiating process to ensure that the policies being developed will not create unintended consequences and will maximize opportunities for innovation.  We view the latest bipartisan discussions being led by Senators Kerry, Graham, and Lieberman as critical to domestic action, and pledge our support for their continued efforts in the weeks and months ahead, too.

We thank you in advance for helping to protect our economic, environmental and national security interests for the future.  Your forceful leadership is essential to securing an international deal to address climate change in Copenhagen.  We look forward to working with you in the coming days and going forward following the Copenhagen conference.

Sincerely,

Aspen Skiing Company

Ben & Jerry’s

Business Council for Sustainable Energy (BCSE)

Clif Bar and Company

Dow Chemical

eBay

Eileen Fisher

Gap Inc.

groSolar

Ingersoll Rand

Jones Lang LaSalle

Jupiter Oxygen Corporation

Levi Strauss & Co.

Lykes Brothers, Inc.

Microsoft

MissionPoint Capital Partners

Nike

Northern Grid

PG&E

PSEG

Seventh Generation

Solazyme, Inc.

Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA)

Starbucks

Stonyfield Farm

Sun Microsystems

Symantec

The North Face

Timberland

---

[1] Prince of Wales’s Corporate Leaders Group on Climate Change and University of Cambridge Programme for Sustainability Leadership, “The Copenhagen Communique on Climate Change,” 2009.

Jeff Wolfe is tweeting away from Copenhagen with lots of insight on activities, attitudes from the Climate Conference. Follow his tweets at:

http://twitter.com/jeff_grosolar

350.org has been rallying people around the world to take action on climage change. Most recently they organized a weekend of action December 11-13. Bill McKibben, 350.org founder and also a groSolar customer, sent out a rather inspiring email late yesterday about the success of this event all over the world. We wanted to re-publish that email here:

Dear Friends,

Thanks beyond thanks.

It’s been a remarkable day for those of us here in Copenhagen, but mostly not because of anything happening at the climate conference.

Instead it’s because of what you all did out in the rest of the world over the last 24 hours. We don’t have a full count of vigils around the world, but in something like 3,000 cities and towns across the planet your vigils sent the most powerful of messages to the leaders here: stop playing games, and start protecting the planet.

Here in Copenhagen, there were more than 100,000 people marching in the streets–99% of them peaceful and dignified–to call for climate solutions bold enough to meet the scale of the crisis. As the sun set on this city, thousands lit candles to stand in solidarity with those on the front lines of climate change–a moving and unprecedented moment in this movement.

We’ve already started to get your photos in front of world leaders and the global media assembled here. If you haven’t yet submitted your photos, videos, and stories, please do so just as soon as you can by visiting this link:

http://www.350.org/vigil-report

We’re projecting the images on walls and screens all around Copenhagen, and starting Monday we’ll be putting them to good use as lobbying tools for UN delegates from Argentina to Zimbabwe.

A wide network of allies and individuals helped pull this amazing feat off, and thanks to them–and all of you–our collective call to action is unavoidable. More importantly, our message was clear: the world can’t afford just any climate deal–we need a real deal that is fair enough to protect those bearing the brunt of climate impacts, is legally binding and enforceable, and is ambitious enough to get the world back on a path to 350.

While there’s no guarantee that world leaders will pay attention to this call with the level of ambition that’s required, we can guarantee that you’ve given this movement another boost at a crucial moment.

We’ll be in touch in the coming days, but for now know that everyone here sends their deep thanks and love.

Onwards,
Bill McKibben for the 350 Team

Found this cool tool from the Sustainability Institute in Hartland, VT at the Cobb Hill co-housing community where we installed solar hot water and where one of our solar installers lives.

Here is the link: http://climateinteractive.wordpress.com/2009/12/02/climate-scoreboard-cop15-widget/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+ClimateInteractive+%28Climate+Interactive%29

I recently posted my support of clean energy on the Repower Wall at Repower America and I encourage you all to do the same. Let your voice be heard.

Here is my post:

“It’s time. The science is sound, while still developing details. The evidence is clear, and mounting higher. There can be no more stalling, equivocating, deception.  We have the technology to start making the needed changes now, and can create the largest economic opportunity ever, for all. The US now needs to be the leader again it has been in times past, and work to create a fair, just, and equitable agreement to move the world toward a sustainable climate. There is no more important issue for us; no more important environmental, social, or financial issue. Let us move, together, now.”