Senator Eliot Shapleigh - El Paso, Texas

Solar energy’s long-range future shines brightly, and Texas should not miss opportunities to establish itself as a force in its development, just as it has done with wind energy.

One such opportunity may start with Applied Materials Inc., which is the world’s largest maker of semiconductor manufacturing equipment and has one of its major plants here. As American-Statesman business writer Kirk Ladendorff reported this week, Applied Materials, based in Santa Clara, Calif., sees in solar energy a potential for future growth and profit.

“It’s a business that’s going to go grow somewhere,” said company spokesman Steve Taylor, “and we’d like to grow in Texas because we’re already here.”

There are several reasons why Texas in general, and Central Texas in particular, would be a logical place to develop as a national, even international, hub for solar energy. There’s no shortage of sunshine here, obviously, and Texas has long taken pride in its leadership in the energy industry.

The municipally owned utility, Austin Energy, already is a recognized leader for fostering renewable energy sources and conservation. Austin Community College courses and programs for learning how to install and maintain solar-powered systems are not only full but have waiting lists. And, of course, there’s an enormous amount of engineering talent at the University of Texas and high-tech companies across Central Texas, which have attracted and developed a highly capable work force.

What Applied Materials would like Texas to do, Taylor said, is offer incentives that would promote the expanded use of solar energy, helping to boost the market for solar systems, a product the company sees as a logical extension of its work with semiconductors. For example, he said, Washington state offers a rebate to consumers who install solar panels — and a double rebate if the panels were manufactured in Washington.

Coincidentally, a coalition of environmental groups and a Dallas-based business group, Texas Business for Clean Air, is sponsoring a conference at the Capitol next month on “Building the Business Case for Solar.” One issue at the conference is what regulatory and legislative changes Texas should make to foster solar energy growth here.

Solar energy is no cure-all for our energy woes. It provides a minuscule share of the nation’s electricity today, less than 1 percent, less even than wind energy. Though the fuel is free, it is intermittent. The cost of solar panels is slowly falling, though it remains too high to compete with natural gas, coal and nuclear power plants.

But scientists, engineers and entrepreneurs are slowly finding ways to lower the cost of making solar panels and make them more efficient at translating sunlight into usable energy.

Moreover, increasing world competition for other fuels, especially natural gas and coal, likely will drive up their cost, making solar more competitive. And if a carbon tax is imposed on natural gas and coal to reflect their contributions to global warming, that too would narrow the price gap with solar (and wind) energy.

Texas has a gusher of sunshine, and it shouldn’t wait for somebody else to figure out how to use it and profit from this renewable, nonpolluting resource.