GE puts hold on new solar jobs

Jul 7 - Larry Rulison Times Union, Albany, N.Y.


General Electric Co. says it won't be adding scores of new renewable energy jobs locally as previously expected after it put on hold plans for a $300 million solar panel factory in Colorado.

New York state had aggressively vied for the Colorado plant, which GE awarded to Aurora, Colo., last October.

The consolation prize was 100 jobs at the company's renewable energy headquarters in Schenectady and its Global Research Center in Niskayuna that would support the Colorado project.

But a collapse in domestic solar panel prices, brought on by a glut of supply, led GE to put the Colorado project on hold for at least 18 months as it further develops its solar technology to compete in the new landscape.

 

Domestic solar manufacturers have been crying foul for months that Chinese companies have been illegally flooding the U.S. market with artificially low-priced solar panels in an attempt to kill competition and grab market share. The practice is called dumping.

GE, which is a major business presence in the Far East, does not blame the Chinese for the collapse of the market but rather cites overcapacity and declining government incentives.

"It's an environment that requires players to be agile and smart," said Chris Horne, a spokeswoman with GE in Schenectady, which is also home to a steam turbine plant and GE's new battery factory. "This technology will reach a far higher efficiency level and more competitive cost position and will require modifications to the plant design currently under way."

GE is conducting more than 600 experiments a week in its research labs, including in Niskayuna, as it seeks to increase the efficiency -- or effectiveness -- of its solar panels, Horne said. The company "fully intends" to make the local hires first announced last year.

"This will happen as we ramp up technology and start the build-out of the factory again," Horne said.

Solar panel manufacturing has plummeted in the U.S., dropping from 335 megawatts produced in the first quarter of 2011 to 160 megawatts during the first quarter of this year, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association. SEIA, a trade group, blames increased global competition and trade disputes. The U.S. government has responded by putting tariffs on Chinese solar imports, but the results won't be felt until next year, the organization believes.

The fierce competition is one of the reasons why the Department of Energy awarded the University at Albany College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering more than $60 million to create a solar manufacturing consortium. Alain Kaloyeros, CEO of the NanoCollege and chair of the new program, known as the U.S. Photovoltaic Manufacturing Initiative, said it will require five years of intense research and development to get the technology where it needs to be.

And there has to be continued partnering between the industry and the government to create "venues," including incentives and policies that make solar financially competitive with traditional power sources until it can stand on its own.

One example is the Cuomo administration's NY-Sun initiative that doubles state incentives for solar installations to $432 million over the next four years.

"It allows companies to continue to develop the technology until there is a fully competitive environment," Kaloyeros said.

lrulison@timesunion.com --518-454-5504 --@larryrulison