Future of Photovoltaics Manufacturing in the United States: Summary of Two Symposia.

摘要

The United States has entered a time of both urgency and great opportunity with respect to its energy generation. The urgency is driven by substantial national investments in renewable energy in the current economic downturn. The urgency is also driven by a growing consensus that the United States spends too much on energy, uses much of it inefficiently, and must reckon with a nexus of concerns related to the impact of carbon-based energy on the environment, on national security, and on economic growth. In his keynote remarks at the National Academies symposium on the future of photovoltaics manufacturing in the United States, Senator Mark Udall of Colorado listed some of the advantages of more widespread use of solar technologies, including new economic opportunities and improved national security. For the economy, he said, solar energy would be able to create millions of new jobs and provide a key pillar of the economy for the twenty-first century.