Transition to 'clean-tech' industry will continue to fuel local economy

Transition to 'clean-tech' industry will continue to fuel local economy

By Patrick Brendel Friday, 10 April 2009

AUSTIN — Austin’s next big economic engine could run on solar power and batteries.

Researchers have invested decades of research into “clean technologies” like advanced batteries and renewable energy, and now, billions of federal dollars are up for grabs to make clean tech a reality. Competing with cities across the country, Austin has a narrow window of opportunity to capitalize on a rapidly maturing “green” industry that has the potential to be as important to the region as software and semiconductors, proponents say.

“I think it’s going to surprise people how quickly it gets off the ground and starts having a significant impact,” said Jose Beceiro, director of Clean Energy Initiatives for the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce.

Position to succeed

“Geographically, the winners and losers are going to be sorted out in the next 24 months,” said state Rep. Mark Strama, D-Austin, who chairs a House committee responsible for creating tech jobs.

Austin’s geography is one of several attractions for clean-tech companies, Beceiro said, citing the city’s location on the IH 35 corridor, midway between the Port of Houston and west Texas wind farms. The prevalence of Texas sun is another plus, as is the presence of University of Texas researchers — some of whom invented the very same technologies now being commercialized.

The area’s high-tech culture also is a welcome sign to clean-tech entrepreneurs looking for like-minded neighbors and a ready pool of skilled workers, including the thousands of employees recently laid off from the high-tech sector. Plus, fabrication facilities and equipment for semiconductors can be converted to clean-tech purposes with relative ease.

That is the message Austin attorney Pike Powers has been pitching across Central Texas as he has been attempting to build support to vault the region into the forefront of the clean-tech world. His approach is similar in many ways to how his Sematech coalition in the ’80s built Austin’s semiconductor industry, which is now an important ally in the clean-tech effort.

“We know how to do this. We’ve done it before. We can do it again,” he said. “We set our aim and go do it. I personally think we ought to be led out and shot if we don’t.”

Like in the ’80s, the country is now in a recession. But where the less optimistic see challenges, Powers sees opportunity.

“A bad economy pushes people to reinvent themselves in a way that perhaps they wouldn’t have otherwise,” he said.

Advanced batteries

“People that have worked in other high-tech areas like semiconductors and software can apply that knowledge to high-capacity energy storage and green technology,” said Ross Goolsby, CFO of battery company Valence Technology Inc.

Before joining Valence last year, Goolsby held a similar position with a local high-tech company. Valence develops and manufactures advanced lithium batteries used in Segways and other electric and hybrid transportation vehicles. The next generation of Valence batteries are being designed for other purposes, including military applications and stationary energy storage for wind and solar power.

“One of the key challenges both solar and wind have is storage. I think we have the opportunity to grow with them,” Goolsby said.

Sunny days ahead

Solar power is another promising clean technology for the City of Austin, which has pledged to increase its use of renewable energy to 100 megawatts of electricity per year by 2020. To that end, Austin Energy plans to build a 30-megawatt solar plant near Webberville, east of Austin. It would be the largest photovoltaic farm in North America.

Having the largest solar farm in North America indicates Austin’s commitment to solar power. Also, it is a possibility that solar companies and researchers will be able to use much of the 2,500 acres of city-owned land where the solar farm would be built.

Another initiative to promote solar energy is the Texas Clean Energy Park in southeast Austin, the product of a public-private partnership funded with state money. The 140-acre park is intended to become a campus for clean-tech companies. The state’s leading solar panel manufacturer, HelioVolt, is adjacent to the park.

“I founded the company here first and foremost because of the community of people in the semiconductor and the high-tech industry,” HelioVolt founder BJ Stanbery said.

State Rep. Eddie Rodriguez, D-Austin, whose district includes the clean-energy park, wants to help companies like HelioVolt by accelerating demand for solar products by individuals and big businesses.

Rodriguez has proposed a zero-interest loan program for people and organizations investing in renewable energy devices. Strama, too, has legislation to stimulate demand for solar power, filing a bill that allows cities to lend homeowners money to put solar panels on their roofs.

“We are seeing the beginnings of a new industry with the potential to grow exponentially and to produce products and technologies to power the future economy,” Beceiro said. “We are just in the beginning stages right now. I think we’re going to see an accelerated growth situation.”

A sample of clean-tech companies in Austin

• Applied Materials
  • Clean-tech production equipment
  • 1750 local employees
  • www.appliedmaterials.com
  • 9700 Hwy. 290, Austin, TX 78724
• Cielo Wind Power
  • Wind energy provider
  • 35 local employees
  • www.cielowind.com
  • 823 Congress Ave., Austin, TX 78701
• Green Mountain Energy Co.
  • Clean electricity provider
  • 65 local employees
  • www.greenmountain.com
  • 3815 S. Capital of Texas Hwy., Ste. 100 Austin, TX 78704
• HelioVolt
  • Thin-film solar panel manufacturing
  • 160 local employees
  • www.heliovolt.net
  • 8201 E. Riverside Drive, Ste. 600, Austin, TX 78744
• LighthouseSolar
  • Solar panel installer
  • 12 local employees
  • www.lighthousesolar.us
  • 1011 N. Lamar Blvd., Austin, TX 78703
• Valence Technology
  • Advanced battery development
  • 90 local employees
  • www.valence.com
  • 12201 Technology Blvd., Ste. 150, Austin, TX 78727