Orange County NC Website
Browse       Search
4 <br />1 Just this week, UNC-Chapel Hill announced that it received a 17.5 million dollar grant to <br />2 develop solar fuels from next-generation photovoltaic technology, which would provide a <br />3 foundation for the development of this solar cluster; <br />4 <br />5 Renewable energy has significant economic growth potential and is consistent with the values <br />6 and goals of Orange County residents for sustainable, green initiatives; <br />7 <br />8 oData support future job growth of up to 440,000 jobs by 2016 in this sector nationwide; <br />9 <br />10 OTo develop the workforce needed for this sector, asolar-focused curriculum is already <br />11 planned for the Fall Semester of 2009 at the Orange County Campus of Durham Technical <br />12 Community College (DTCC); <br />13 <br />14 OJobs created in the energy sector tend to be higher paying than retail, and provide stable jobs <br />15 for people throughout a range of educational attainment; <br />16 <br />17 oThe transportation location of Orange County (at the intersection of both a major east-west <br />18 and anorth-south highway) is ideal to attract and facilitate growth in this sector. The potential <br />19 supply chain to support this industry is already fairly well developed along the I-85 corridor; <br />20 <br />21 oDevelopment of this industry would allow us to reap the benefits of our proximate intellectual <br />22 environment, such as research universities and Research Triangle Park; <br />23 <br />24 The current federal stimulus funding supports significant growth in the solar industry; <br />25 <br />26 State legislation requires that energy companies in North Carolina obtain 12.5 % of their <br />27 energy portfolio from renewable energy production (Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency <br />28 Portfolio Standard or RPS); and <br />29 <br />30 DA growing energy demand suggests that additional sources of energy will be required in the <br />31 future; given the regulatory hurdles of traditional energy sources (coal and nuclear, specifically), <br />32 renewable energy supply will need to meet this demand. <br />33 <br />34 A recent article in the Triangle Business Journal has already brought several inquiries to <br />35 Economic Development staff about Orange County's solar focus. The current impediment to <br />36 moving ahead in talking with interested parties remains the short comings in assets available to <br />37 market Orange County as an expansion venue to manufacturing and research and <br />38 development operations. <br />39 <br />40 We, as the advisory board to the EDC, enthusiastically support an effort to position Orange <br />41 County as a leading hub for solar growth in North Carolina, the Southeast, and the United <br />42 States. However, we must move in a timely manner to leverage the assets already available, <br />43 such as the DTCC curriculum and the UNC grant, and to effectively compete in the marketplace <br />44 for this type of industry. We recommend that appropriate action be taken now to develop the <br />45 tools necessary to make Orange County the preferred location for this sector's development. <br />46 These steps may include: <br />47 <br />48 oDecide if incentives will be utilized to recruit potential solar businesses, and if so, what type, <br />49 and take immediate action to assure their availability; <br />50 <br />