clean tech manufacturing

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.

As Congress continues to mull over the need for another jobs bill, it is my hope that our elected officials realize that a transition to a clean-tech economy will only work insofar as two crucial policies—the inclusion of solar manufacturing equipment in the Manufacturing Investment Tax Credit (MITC) and the extension of the Treasury Grant Program (TGP)—are properly implemented.

On Wednesday, Arnold Schwarzenegger, the governor of California, in his annual State of the State Address called for support of green technology to create new jobs to boost the economy. Schwarzenegger highlighted how the Californian dream is not over – calling the state a pioneering mega-state that is the greenest, most diverse, and most globalized state in the union with an unparalleled engine of innovation.