The Green Collar Economy - Van Jones

Dow Corning CEO Talks Solar Power With Obama

Posted: Sunday, 05 July 2009 3:01PM

Dow Corning CEO Talks Solar Power With Obama

Stephanie Burns, CEO of Midland-based Dow Corning Corp., met last week with President Barack Obama as part of a roundtable on business innovation and renewable energy.

Burns was one of several business leaders Obama invited to the White House for the meeting, Dow Corning spokesman Jarrod Erpelding said.

The corporation and its Saginaw-based subsidiary, Hemlock Semiconductor Corp., are heavily involved in the emerging solar energy industry.

Burns visited Washington, D.C., last week with 10 Dow Corning customers to lobby for a plan to foster the solar industry the United States. Less than 1 percent of U.S. energy is solar generated.

Burns is promoting a four-part plan that calls on the government to do the following:

* Enact a broad legislative and regulatory package to encourage the growth of the renewable energy industry and encourage consumer use.
* Increase investment in research and development solar energy technologies.
* Increase renewable energy-related education, training and job creation.
* Have the government take the lead in using clean-energy technologies.

Dow Corning's silicon-based materials are used in solar cell manufacturing, solar module assembly and installation. In the past five years, Dow Corning and Hemlock have announced investments of more than $5 billion to research, develop and expand production of solar materials.

The meeting was the latest in a series of small-scale roundtables that the President is hosting and included Department of Energy Secretary Steven Chu, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa P. Jackson and several other CEOs of renewable energy companies at the White House.

“Solar energy is a clean, efficient and readily available technology that with the right support could help transform America’s energy, environmental and economic future,” Burns said. “To make America a 21st century solar power, we need smart and effective government policies that will help the private sector grow, thrive and create thousands of new jobs.”

The trip to Washington was the second in as many weeks for Burns and other Dow Corning representatives to discuss solar energy policy with government officials.

On June 23, Dow Corning and 10 customers met with key members of Congress and the Administration, including House Energy and Commerce Chairman Henry Waxman and Assistant to the President for Energy and Climate Change Carol Browner, to deliver the four-point policy plan.

To learn more about Dow Corning’s efforts to promote a comprehensive energy policy that will support the growth and success of a vibrant American solar energy industry visit www.dowcorning.com/solarpolicy.

I trekked myself

http://www.trekyourself.com/?mId=30422865.3

Green living in the spotlight at Michigan Energy Fair

Whether you just want to save a few bucks or you want to drop off the grid completely, the Michigan Energy Fair had something for you. The Great Lakes Renewable Energy Association's fourth annual fair took place over the weekend at the Manistee County Fairgrounds in Onekama along the shores of Portage Lake and Lake Michigan, drawing a crowd of thousands. More than 100 exhibitors showed off everything from wind generators to solar photovoltaic systems to pellet stoves to high-efficiency construction techniques. More.

Wind turbine center in Detroit

General Electric plans to build R&D wind turbine center in Detroit, sources say
By Daniel Duggan

General Electric Co. (NYSE:GE) will announce plans to build a research, development and manufacturing facility for wind turbines in Metro Detroit, sources tell Crain’s.

The operation will be in either Oakland or Wayne county. Given that GE chairman and CEO Jeff Immelt will be speaking at the Townsend Hotel tomorrow for theDetroit Economic Club, it is believed the location will be in Oakland County.

The new facility is expected to create more than 1,000 jobs.

An announcement on the project is expected to come from Gov. Jennifer Granholm.

Members of Granholm’s press office were not available to comment on the project Thursday morning.

Fast Track at Tech Town

http://techtownwsu.org/

There are two upcoming programs that are FREE.

FastTrac to the Future: The First Day of Your Entrepreneurial Adventure

July 25 2009 at 7:30 AM – 5PM

The FastTrac all day session (includes food –breakfast, box lunch and evening reception). Registration is “online” at the Tech Town site. I strongly encourage ANYONE who you are working with to sign up and attend who wants to add to their entrepreneurial educational experience.. The program begins promptly at 8am (with a bit of breakfast, coffee and water) and features Chris Gardner as the keynote speaker, author of “Start Where You Are.”

At FastTrac, professional consultants are available to meet with entrepreneurs to move their business plan along. The Kauffman Foundation has 3 different workshops they are offering to participants for FREE.

Will your kids make potato chips or microchips ?

OU to train scientists in next-generation radio technology
Through the support of a $95,000 grant, awarded by the U.S. Congress and administered by the U.S. Department of Education, Oakland University will begin training a new generation of high-tech scientists to incorporate cutting-edge technology into radio frequency electronics. Over the past six years, Oakland researchers have completed work that has led to the acquisition of four patents on miniature sensor and signal processing technologies. Likely applications of these advances include military systems, such as missile defense and radar, unmanned aerial vehicles and soldier communications; and consumer electronics including mobile wireless systems, multifunction vehicle antennas, cell phones, GPS systems and handheld computers. More.