India’s solar industry is finally taking off, but before it can make a meaningful contribution to the country’s growing power demands, many hurdles must still be overcome say experts and business leaders in the field.

In order to remain competitive in the global solar market and compete with countries like China and others, Indian manufactures will need to scale up and quickly. The market is there and booming, but manufacturers need capacities of 300-1,000 MW to remain competitive.

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Imagine a world where some of the biggest problems we have are solved through clean technology. What would happen if we engage young, creative minds in tackling issues of immediate importance to the global community?

To inspire the next generation of innovators, Applied Materials is pleased to announce the Clean Tech Competition, a design contest for 13-18 year old youth living in the San Francisco Bay Area, USA and Xi’an, China.

The 2011 inaugural challenge posed to students in two of the world’s most historic centers of innovation is “Solar Solutions to the Rescue.” Teams of entrants will design a solar-powered solution to a basic human need identified in the aftermath of a natural disaster.

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I was talking to a cool science chic with pink hair who rides a hovercraft at The Tech Museum yesterday. She offered to show me her sweet, new game that teaches kids how to be climate change experts and learn about cutting-edge technology that will help save our planet. It was all in a day’s play in the virtual world, where my avatar explored The Tech Museum and played the new Bright Future Trivia Game.

Developed by Applied Materials and hosted by The Tech Museum through the KidsCom.com website, The Bright Future (BF) Trivia Game challenges kids’ environmental knowledge with well-researched, age-appropriate, green trivia. Questions cover such topics as renewable energy, biodiversity, green careers and climate change.

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Some positive signals from Washington this week: President Obama has rolled out a new strategy to develop a cleaner and more diversified energy portfolio.

In a speech at Georgetown University, President Obama called for reducing oil imports by at least one-third by 2025 – through improved fuel economy standards, energy efficiency and alternative forms of energy, such as solar, wind, biofuels and natural gas.

The President also built on his State of the Union speech with renewed calls for cleaner electricity generation, and a goal of requiring that 80% of electricity come from cleaner sources by 2035. Applied Materials applauds President Obama for his continued commitment to fostering the nation’s clean technology industry – and strongly support a plan for a clean energy standard that fosters solar deployment. We agree that renewable energy and clean technology is the key to our country’s future competitiveness.

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At Applied Materials, “we do big things” transforming innovation into industries and we applaud President Obama’s list of the “big things” we need to move our nation forward. With additional research and incentives for innovation, the U.S. can maintain our leadership position and continue to push and inspire the world to develop and adopt new clean technology.

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