Clean tech jobs

Last week I attended an interesting community forum on the future growth of the San Francisco Bay Area. Sponsored by the Silicon Valley Community Foundation (an organization with which Applied Materials has often partnered) and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, 80 or so members of the community gathered to explore various scenarios for the anticipated growth of the area. It is projected that by 2035 the Bay Area will add 900,000 households and 1.2 million jobs. The tough questions we were asked included: “Where will this growth take place?” and “How will we grow?” The assumption is that we need to grow sustainably in order to maintain the many great qualities the region possesses.

California's pioneering 33% Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) bill, authored by state Sen. Joe Simitian, D-Palo Alto, passed the California Assembly yesterday, sending a measure to Governor Brown’s desk – which he is expected to sign. The new standard will increase the state’s renewable portfolio standard to 33% by 2020.

As the government considers President Obama’s proposed budget, we hope our legislators push hard for budget commitments and policies that make the creation of a strong domestic clean technology industry a priority. The budget, after all, is the government displaying its priorities with numbers attached. We’re pleased that President Obama’s budget focuses on the future, and creating a cleaner, greener, more competitive, and more secure America.

 One of the things I learned last week was that an event that combines cleantech, jobs and great food—along with effective advertising—can deliver an excellent turnout. Indeed that formula worked at the recent Cleantech Outlook:Growing Green Jobs panel. The event, moderated by Rex Northen, executive director of Cleantech Open, was co-sponsored by the Santa Clara University Leavey School of Business, Applied Materials, and PayPal, which hosted the venue.

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.

Rob DeLine, managing director of solar marketing at Applied Materials, discussed the positive economic impact of utility scale solar and its potential to create jobs and manufacturing ecosystems in communities across the world on Twitter today as part of this week’s series of online conversations on various aspects of solar energy.

Applied Materials and more than 80 other companies joined together in an unprecedented national effort to call attention to the need for bi-partisan climate and energy legislation. The group asks critical questions of policy makers about America’s energy future, national security and the country’s competitive edge among other key issues that would lead the country to become the world’s leader in the burgeoning clean energy economy.

In 2008, Applied Materials unveiled a 2 megawatt parking lot and roof top solar installation at its Sunnyvale, California location. It was then, and remains, one of the largest corporate installations in the world.