Washington attracts growing solar-panel industry
At least four companies in the solar manufacturing business are considering building or expanding facilities here -- plants that could bring hundreds of jobs and hundreds of millions of dollars to the state.
The solar industry is expanding rapidly, with growth estimates ranging from 25 percent to 40 percent per year. Strong and growing demand in Japan, Germany and California has even outstripped the supply of photovoltaic cells and the pure silicon that most cells are made from.
Solar panels are in short supply throughout the United States, with installers reporting months-long back orders. That's mainly due to a shortage of high-quality silicon, a material that can be refined from beach sand, said Mike Nelson, director of the Northwest Solar Center, which is part of Washington State University's energy program.
For example, Moses Lake-based silicon refiner Solar Grade Silicon LLC is sold out of silicon through 2007.
Now Washington, with its cheap hydroelectricity and new tax incentives for solar sector manufacturers, is attracting companies such as silicon refiners and solar cell manufacturers.
Silicon purification requires a lot of energy, and several communities in Eastern and Central Washington can offer cheap hydropower from the Columbia River, Nelson said.
"That's the really attractive card Washington has to play," he said. "We're really sitting in the catbird seat for silicon manufacturers."
Tor Hartmann, president of Solar Grade Silicon, said Washington has a unique opportunity to build a strong solar manufacturing industry in the state.
"You don't have to be a major user of solar equipment to build a solar industry," he said. "Just ask Norway. Norway is not by any definition the largest user, but it's one of the top producers."
