Renewable energy development is a cornerstone of President Barack Obama’s long-term economic strategy. The Department of Energy also recently announced the SunShot Initiative in an effort to cut the cost of solar energy by 75% by 2020. The 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act included $70 billion in renewable energy and energy efficiency measures. CPV manufacturer Amonix recently built a facility in North Las Vegas that was financed with a $5.9 million investment tax credit from the Recovery Act awarded in 2010 and $12 million in private capital. The facility will bring $560 million of overall economic impact, including more than 300 private-sector clean energy jobs, to Southern Nevada in the next five years, according to the Nevada Development Authority. Department of Energy Secretary Dr. Steven Chu recently visited the new Amonix production facility to see first-hand how the Obama Administration’s renewable energy policies are turning into economic activity and energy independence.
Chu toured the facility where the company manufactures concentrated photovoltaic (CPV) solar power systems for utility-scale power plants, such as the 2-MW power plant in Tucson, Arizona, that showcases efficient solar technology. After the tour, Chu led a round table discussion with solar industry business leaders at the Amonix facility.
Chu was a co-winner of the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1997 and former director of the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, where he led the lab in pursuit of alternative and renewable energy technologies. “Secretary Chu has a longstanding interest in renewable energy sources. It’s an honor to have him visit Amonix to take a closer look at our state-of-the-art manufacturing facility,” says Amonix CEO Brian Robertson. “His visit emphasizes the reality that utility-scale solar energy is an economically viable reality.
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