It was a sweltering 110 degrees on the roof, but that didn’t deter the Applied Materials employees who volunteered to install solar panels on two homes in a modest San Jose neighborhood recently. Gallons of water, ample sunscreen, and plenty of breaks under highly-coveted shade trees fortified the volunteers who worked alongside students from local solar job training programs.
As Californians witnessed leading up to yesterday’s election, Proposition 23, which called for the suspension of the State’s landmark AB 32 law (the Global Warming Solutions Act), was one of the most debated items on the ballot.
While proponents of the proposition pegged Prop 23 as a “jobs initiative,” the real thrust of the proposition was to suspend AB 32 until unemployment reaches a level of 5.5% for four consecutive quarters, a mark that has been hit only a few times in the last 30 years. As a consequence, Prop 23 was effectively a repeal of the law.
I am pleased to share with you an update on Applied Ventures as we celebrate our fund's fifth anniversary. Over these past five years, we have had the privilege of investing more than $100 million dollars in 27 companies, mostly in cleantech, making us one of the most active investors in the space.
Applied Materials is participating in this year's Solar Power International 2010 (SPI) which is touted as North America's largest business-to-business solar event, running from Oct 12-14th in Los Angeles, California.
"We're going to take our money elsewhere." Maybe those words will have the impact that “global warming,” “climate change,” “green economy” and others have failed to make on skeptical U.S. policymakers. And who uttered the line above – Mr. Kevin Parker, head of Deutsche Bank’s asset management division – is no less important than what was said.
In celebration of India’s 63rd anniversary of Independence, The Times of India, Bangalore edition, featured articles from several leading high tech companies on how technology is helping to further advance the country’s freedom.
AppliedMaterials' Dr. Madhusudan Atre, President of Applied Materials India contributed a piece titled, Move Towards Secure Solar Power.
The clean energy movement has an unfortunate history of sacrificing the “good” in search of the “perfect” solution. Here’s an example: Kevin Costner (yes, the actor) reacted to the Exxon Valdez oil spill by investing over $24 million in a company that makes high speed centrifuge machines that can separate oil from water at the source of an oil spill. So, rather than having to skim the oil off the water or collect and transport massive mixtures of oil and water, the machines sends clean water back into the ocean on site and collect oil on the tanker. That way, the oil never reaches land, which greatly reduces the impact on wetlands, birds and sea life.
At the White House this morning, Commerce Secretary Gary Locke made a compelling case for America’s next great industry – the renewable energy industry. Speaking at the Clean Energy Economy Forum, Secretary Locke told an audience of top administration and business leaders that clean energy is key to creating “the greatest economic opportunity of the 21st century.” We couldn’t agree more.
The Austin Generation Resource Plan, a proposed master plan for Austin, Texas’ energy production and usage through 2020, calls for developing 170 megawatts (MW) of new solar power over the next decade -- in addition to the current Austin goal of 100 MW.
That refrain from Paul Simon’s song by the same title inserted itself into my brain recently as I read that Samsung had signed a $6.6 billion solar and wind power deal with Ontario, Canada.