Oct 12 - McClatchy-Tribune Regional News - Vicki Vaughan San Antonio Express-News

Texas has been a leader in energy for 100 years, but the state isn't moving forward quickly enough to develop solar energy, two experts said Thursday.

"California, New Jersey, Colorado and Pennsylvania are moving more quickly than Texas" in developing solar power, said Bruce Kellison, associate director of the IC2 Institute, a University of Texas at Austin think tank devoted to fostering entrepreneurship and job creation.

"Greater development of solar power can bolster Texas' weakening semiconductor and materials industries" and create jobs, Kellison said.

Texas would gain as many as 123,000 net new jobs in areas such as construction, transportation and electricity generation by 2020 if the state expands its requirements for greater use of renewable energy, Kellison said.

A key to expanding solar energy is building up Texas' photovoltaic industry, he said. Photovoltaic devices convert sunlight into electricity.

Texas receives more sunlight than any state in the country. But Texas scores behind California, Colorado and Massachusetts in developing innovative photovoltaic products, Kellison's institute found.

Texas could help drive down the costs of manufacturing and installing solar technology by investing in intellectual capital.

"Why has New Jersey become one of the nation's largest developers of photovoltaic products?" Kellison said. "We need to create a research pipeline and create economic incentives" for developing solar-related products, he said.

Joel Serface, director of the Clean Energy Incubator, took up the same theme at the gathering, sponsored by Solar San Antonio, Bexar County, the city and Austin-based Meridian Energy Systems.

"Texas is losing its leadership position," not only in the United States, but the world, Serface said.

"While Texas was sleeping and not investing, Japan and Germany became world leaders in solar," said Serface, whose Clean Energy Incubator's mission is to launch and to develop renewable energy technologies. Both Japan and Germany each had almost three times the total installed photovoltaic power as did the U.S. at the end of 2005, according to the International Energy Agency.

"We could create an industry here overnight because we already have a lot of the technology on the ground," he said.

Serface said the challenge for solar is reducing its cost. At present, solar panels cost about $300 per watt. "That's not commercially viable," he said. But as larger plants manufacturing panels come online, he said, "We'll see a precipitous drop in prices," he said.

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