Dec 5 - McClatchy-Tribune Regional News - Jeremiah Horrigan The Times Herald-Record, Middletown, N.Y.

Six months ago, Vincent Cozzolino got to wondering about solar power. Why wasn't research moving forward? Who was going to make it work?

Not content to idly wonder, the retired IBM executive started putting together a group of research, development and industrial experts. Yesterday, the academic wing of what's become The Solar Energy Consortium took center stage in what Cozzolino hopes will make the region the hub of all things solar-powered. The group of colleges and universities is Cornell, Binghamton, Clarkson, RPI and SUNY New Paltz.

Since he started, the consortium's gotten about $9 million in grants and federal and state commitments over the next several years, Cozzolino said.

Rep. Maurice Hinchey, D-Hurley, who's been instrumental in getting federal money flowing toward the consortium, hailed the effort "to establish TSEC as the pre-eminent voice of solar technology in New York and the country."

The idea is that a university coalition will work with TSEC to solve technical problems and create ways to make the industry more efficient and cheaper. The university researchers would also be available to consult with businesses that want to incorporate solar technology into their facilities.

The bottom line promise of the effort could mean 300 to 500 new jobs initially and thousands more if and when the TSEC achieves its various goals.

John Harrington, TSEC's vice president, said the technical expertise between the universities and colleges "cannot be matched any way in the world."

Representatives from five colleges and universities said they've already begun a virtual combined research and development effort to make solar power more efficient, practical and attractive to both start-ups and existing businesses.

Hinchey said that other countries, including Japan, Germany and Spain, have already made inroads in solar research and that "it was important that the United States and New York state take the lead in the effort."

"All you have to do is stop at a gas station to recognize the importance of what we're doing," Hinchey said.