Senator Eliot Shapleigh - El Paso, Texas

AUSTIN -- With more than 300 days of sunshine a year, El Paso would seem to be a prime location for the solar industry if the Texas Legislature succeeds in attracting more investment in the state.

The Sun City could see an influx of jobs from the industry because of its geography and university, but experts say there has been a lack of leadership on the topic at the local level. Mayor John Cook says the city is seeking more information on how to attract the industry.

So far this session, Texas legislators have filed more than 20 bills dealing with solar and other forms of renewable energy, including a state sales-tax exemption, a green-jobs training program and a move to devote money from the Emerging Technology Fund to solar energy research.

Industry and government leaders are also waiting to find out how much money could be available in the new federal stimulus package. Nationally, $78 billion will be allocated to renewable energy.

State Sen. Troy Fraser, R-Horseshoe Bay, has filed a bill that would create a state fund to subsidize solar energy with a tax on traditional electricity.

Bill Kellison, associate director of the bureau of business research at the University of Texas, said such a plan should be a priority, given the success of a similar fund for wind energy.

Kellison also said electricity customers in the state who install solar panels on their properties should be charged based on the energy they actually use. During peak hours this could be a money-making proposition for consumers, he said.

"I'm selling the electricity I generate on my roof back to the utility," he said. "Your bill actually goes in reverse."

Kellison said that the manufacturing of solar panels and their installation are two different businesses, but that El Paso would be a natural choice for more solar panel installations and as a site for research and development.

"It's not just manufacturing jobs that the state needs; it needs more investment in R&D and that happens in research labs based in the state's universities," he said.

At the University of Texas at El Paso, engineering Professor David Zubia has a grant from the National Renewable Energy Lab to study solar energy. The El Paso Regional Economic Development Corp., or REDCo, is talking with more than 10 renewable energy companies considering relocating to the city.

Bob Cook, REDCo president, said that the companies qualify for some local incentives, but that the city has not designed specific incentives to lure solar development.

Solar companies have easy access to scientists and engineers in El Paso, but they also have unique land requirements, he said. "Right now, solar industry development is very land intensive," Cook said. "It's about six to 10 acres required per megawatt of energy generation."

Russel Smith, president of the Texas Renewable Energy Industry Association, said the number of days of sunshine in El Paso make the city a prime candidate for solar installations, but unless the city develops programs and incentives, it won't get far.

"There's no question in my mind that El Paso is and should be a major center for solar development," Smith said. "At the pace it's going now, it's going to take a good while."

Elected officials and scientists held the El Paso Solar Summit in July 2008 at UTEP. Mayor Cook said the city and county were planning another seminar on solar energy to find out what kinds of incentives companies want.

"We've taken some steps," he said, "but we definitely need to be more aggressive if we're going to be become the solar capital of Texas."