Solar Companies Booming in Buffalo

There's still time to lead the solar parade:

"The solar market is the fastest-growing market worldwide, bar none," said Ryne P. Raffaelle, director of the U.S. Department of Energy's National Center for Photovoltaics in Colorado. "For the last half-dozen years, it's grown at about a 40 to 45 percent compound annual growth rate per year."

That growth is expected to accelerate next year, said Raffaelle, who was a Rochester Institute of Technology faculty member for 10 years. But the vast majority of that growth, both in the manufacturing and deployment of systems, is happening outside the United States. Asia has taken a "commanding lead" in manufacturing, and Europe leads in deployment, he said.

"But the rest of the world, they're still watching the United States. They still see us as the 800-pound gorilla," Raffaelle said. "It's like, 'When are they going to do something?'"

That was from a conference held in the Buffalo area recently.

In Buffalo, New York, they're not just talking about solar power:

Some Buffalo Niagara businesses are tapping into solar energy's power.

Solar Liberty designs and installs solar systems for homes, schools, businesses and government buildings. The company was founded seven years ago and employs 35 people in Amherst.

"Our [project] pipeline is really amazing right now," said Adam K. Rizzo, CEO and co-founder. "We put a lot of effort into signing up as many projects as we could, so we could build a sustainable business in Western New York."

Other projects include the 1.1 megawatt solar array being built at the entrance to the University at Buffalo.

Meanwhile, a thousand miles south, in much sunnier Lowndes County, Georgia,

a lot of people think solar is just an experiment, a demonstration, a niche market. They're behind the times:

Shaun Chapman, who promotes adoption of solar power, said the energy source has made inroads in mainstream acceptance, turning into a business proposition for utilities. He noted that Solar Power International, an upcoming conference in Los Angeles, is expected to draw 40,000 people. "Fifteen years ago, it was ponytails and hemp beads and tie-dye shirts," said Chapman, East Coast campaigns director for the Vote Solar Initiative. "It's a different thing now. It's an industry. And that is run by the Solar Electric Power Association, which is a utility-solar interface. So that dynamic has totally shifted."

Lowndes County has the sun and the market. It even has local companies wanting to serve the solar market. If the local colleges and governments lent a hand, we could lead the state in solar power.

-jsq