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having a strong renewable-energy base would be a competitive advantage in the future.
Solar Integrated produces a commercial roofing material that uses photovoltaic cells to produce about four watts of electricity per square foot. Though it costs more to produce a kilowatt of electricity with this method, companies can use government subsidies to offset their capital outlays. Those include a 30% federal tax credit on the cost of installation, rebates from the state and renewable-energy credits that can be used to offset fees or fines.
"You turn a roof into a performing asset that has a guaranteed energy stream over 20 years," said Slangerup, whose customers include Coca-Cola Co., PepsiCo Inc., Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and commercial real estate developer ProLogis. "It becomes a real powerful selling proposition."
He predicted that the cost of solar systems would drop by two-thirds over the next five years, thanks to technical improvements.
Rising natural gas prices have made wind technology another increasingly attractive option. This year, wind power companies are expected to spend close to $3 billion installing 2,500 megawatts of new capacity in the US, a 40% increase over the previous year, according to Patrick Caramante, vice president of US operations for British-based Garrad Hassan, one of the world's leading wind energy research firms.
Jim Dehlsen, founder of Clipper Technology, said, "The US market has come to life," now that wind turbines can produce a kilowatt of electricity for 4.5 to 5 cents, compared with 9 to 9.5 cents for a new natural gas turbine project.
Dehlsen's first entrepreneurial venture was Zond Corp., which was sold to Enron Corp. in 1997 and eventually ended up in the hands of General Electric Co. GE Energy is now the country's leading wind power provider.
Clipper Technology recently opened an assembly plant in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, where Dehlsen expects to produce five of his high-power Liberty wind turbines this year and 150 in 2006. Those turbines, which are designed to operate even when wind is low, cost about $2.5 million each and can generate enough electricity over a 30-year life span to power 1,250 homes.
Some complain about the visual blight and noise created by wind turbines. But Dehlsen said wind power generation was far less damaging to the environment than fossil fuels, which produce high levels of greenhouse gases.
In addition, wind power could bring jobs to depressed farming and industrial areas. Dehlsen said. Germany, in less than six years, has installed enough wind projects to generate 14,000 megawatts of power and employ 75,000 people.
"The US has a huge wind energy resource," he said. "There are four states alone ... that could supply all of the electricity needs of the country."
Though most of his sales have been in the US, Dehlsen sees huge opportunities in Europe and the developing world. He said he was negotiating deals in Eastern Europe, Latin America and China, with an eye on capturing 12% to 15% of the global market.
But Dehlsen and other renewable-energy advocates said the lack of government support was threatening US technological leadership, pointing to reduced support for the National Renewable Energy Lab in Golden, Colo., the primary provider of government research funds.
Stepped-up interest from venture capitalists and Wall Street investors has provided seed money for entrepreneurs in the US. But once they have mastered the technology, many firms are shifting their manufacturing to countries where governments are providing investment incentives and an assurance of long-term demand.
The US share of global production of photovoltaic cells has dropped from 45% in 1996 to 8% today, according to the Solar Energy Industries Assn.
Evergreen Solar Inc., one of the nation's leading solar firms, developed its modules at a facility in Marlboro, Mass., where it employs 250 people. But the firm sells three-quarters of its product in Germany and plans to invest more than $50 million in a production plant there that will employ 400 people.
"We will eventually build a plant here in the US," said Tim Woodward, a board member of Evergreen and managing director of Nth Power, a San Francisco-based venture capital firm. "But the market demand is not great enough here for us to justify really expanding aggressively in the US market."
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