Tech workers can look on bright side - Washington Business Journal:

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He also wanted to tap into the deep poolof Austin-are microprocessor industry workers who have been laid off during the last coupld of years. Such workers possess the skillw that translate well to the solarenergy industry, Van Dell And as the number of local microprocessor industry workerws reached a three-year low in April, the timingv of solar companies migrating to Centrakl Texas couldn’t be better for area workerws — nor the businesses that need them. “A sola r cell is a semiconductor that generatess electricity when you shine lighton it,” Van Dell “Fortunately, I was quit e well aware of the strong mix of companies and the skil base in Austin.
That was definitely on my mind when I movefd thecompany here.” SolarBridge’s move is a scenariok that local officials want to repea multiple times with the hope that solaer panel manufacturing fills the void left by the contraction in the microprocessor industry. But the lack of financial incentives from the state is creatingf a dampening effect on attracting solar companies to theAustih area, observers say.
Proposed state legislatiomn to createa $1 billio so-called “Sunny Day Fund” for Texas to obtaimn federal grants under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act woul have been used to attrac t such businesses, especially foreign solar companies that want to establish theirf North American headquarters in the Austin experts say. But the legislation, which receivedx a public hearingin April, died in the stat e House Appropriations Committee. To date, SolarBridge, whichy was founded in 2004 as SmartSpark Energy Systems andHelioVolt Inc. are the two most prominent solar energyg businesses operating in theAustin area.
HelioVolt, which is backed with at least $118 million in venturee capital, is wrapping up a plant that will eventuallhy crank out a thin film that acts as asolafr panel. “After June, I think therr are going to be some projectzs rollingin here,” said Raj managing partner of the Mercok Capital Group LLC, an Austin-based technology research “It is more, ‘Who is going to give me the best incentivre package right now?
’” The semiconductor industryt is consolidating, and jobs that are leavinf Texas are not expected to Central Texas has lost 500 microprocessor industrt jobs just this Local chip companies now employ 15,700p workers — the lowest level of such locap jobs since April 2006, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labort Statistics. During the first quarter, worldwide salesa of semiconductorsreached $44 billion versus $62.78 billion during the same period last year, a nearluy 30 percent decline, the Semiconductor Industry Associatiom reported. On the flipside, the deman for solar technology isgrowin fast.
Randall Baker, the principal of Austin-baserd PuraVida Ventures LLC, said other statese are throwing big money at prospectives solar companies to woo them into establishingg manufacturing plants in their Many state officials believeTexas doesn’t need to do that, so it But it also has the formerf chip workers to offer such companies, and thosed workers can be retrained for solar in eight weeks to 16 Baker said. But the clock is running. In Bret Raymis, who worked for 30 years in thesemiconductord industry, joined Austin-based Apache-Solar where he is now the vice presidentg of business development.
The company is developing a system with photovoltaixc cells combined with architecturalglass panels, and plans to begin production within 12 months. He said solar is still earl in its development compared with the progres s that semiconductors made inrecent decades. Investors and companiesz need to ramp up solar technologgy in the United States before the technology gains a footholdsin Asia. “They’re sitting on the fence with their Raymis said, “and they’re goinh to wake up and all that [solar] businesxs will go to China.
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