TMCnet News
EDITORIAL: Grant for solar initiative is big step [The Knoxville News-Sentinel, Tenn.](Knoxville News-Sentinel (TN) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Sep. 27--Approval this month of a $62.5 million economic stimulus grant for a solar power demonstration farm in Haywood County and a solar research institute at the University of Tennessee's Knoxville campus provides another significant boost to put this state on the cutting edge of solar research. Gov. Phil Bredesen, who announced the U.S. Department of Energy's approval of the grant, said he is confident the solar farm will be producing electricity before he leaves office in January 2011. The grant will be divided between the two projects. The solar farm, which will be operated by Genera Energy, a not-for-profit arm of UT, will receive $31 million, while the solar institute will receive $31.5 million. Approval of the grant certainly puts the state in a good position to complement the plans of two of the world's largest manufacturers of solar materials. Wacker Chemie and Hemlock Semiconductor announced earlier they will each construct billion-dollar plants in Tennessee. A separate West Tennessee megasite in Haywood County is pending approval by the State Building Commission. This is where state officials hope to attract the state's next big economic development firm, much like the Volkswagen plant it landed near Chattanooga last year. The next step for the solar farm will be a limited environmental review of the site. The state plans to erect about 22,300 solar panels on about 20 acres of land. The five megawatts of electricity it produces will be directed into TVA's power grid. Some changes were made in the grant application to gain DOE approval. The economic stimulus for the solar institute, for example, will not be used for basic research but for innovation and demonstration projects. The institute likely will be on UT's new Cherokee Farms campus. Matt Kisber, commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development, said funds will be available to businesses seeking ways to reduce energy consumption and make use of solar technology. Money also will be there for retraining workers for new jobs in the field of solar energy. Meanwhile, the debate over solar energy continues, with some contending that the investment will not be worth the results that can be expected. But a positive aspect about research in solar energy is that the arguments are far from concluded. Currently the "pros" of reducing pollution; the ability to use seemingly remote locations to harness solar energy; reduced cost after an initial, sometimes expensive, investment; the freeing of dependence on dwindling fossil fuel supplies and the potential efficiencies outweigh the cons: startup costs, weather and air-pollution obstructions and questionable efficiency after daylight hours. The important message the state is sending is this: It is willing to play a major role in the development of solar energy -- not merely two years from now but well into the future. To see more of The Knoxville News-Sentinel or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.knoxnews.com. Copyright (c) 2009, The Knoxville News-Sentinel, Tenn. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email [email protected], call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA. |