For Norcross-based company, solar energy production is hot

President Obama promises $150 billion in alternative-energy spending – money for solar, wind, ethanol and other renewable energies -- over the next decade.

“We’ve seen a good deal of progress in the last 11 months or so, but more can be done,” Bryan Ashley, chief marketing officer for Suniva, said Thursday. “Still, things are heating up quite a bit.”

Obama travels to Copenhagen next week for the United Nations climate change summit where calls to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from coal-fired power plants, automobiles and other sources could lead to a greater emphasis on renewable energy – and profits for Suniva.

The solar power industry notched 16 percent growth last year, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association, a Washington-based nonprofit. Jobs created by photovoltaic solar cell manufacturers, like Suniva, jumped 81 percent from the previous year.

Ashley said Suniva will increase its Georgia workforce next year by 50 percent. Today it employs 130 people at its clean, un-factory-like factory in Norcross.

While the company hopes to keep production stateside, overseas markets – 90 percent of Suniva’s sales -- promise the best bang for the buck.

Last month Suniva completed the first part of what it hopes will be a long and lucrative $480 million deal with India’s Titan Energy Systems. Ashley said the deal “is not completely finalized yet,” but he’s optimistic.  Suniva’s solar cells power a one megawatt power plant in West Bengal.

Suniva has already embarked upon a similarly sized deal in Germany. France and Spain are proven markets. And China, which is positioning itself as the solar-industry leader, is another Suniva client.

“This is truly a global business,” said Monique Hanis, the trade association’s spokeswoman. “We’re seeing a lot of companies like Suniva making inroads exporting their U.S.-made products. There’s huge potential in China, India and other developing countries.”

The United States, though, remains a solar energy laggard, Georgia in particular. “We’ve got a chance with residential and commercial rooftop solar systems alone to generate 20 percent of Georgia’s future energy needs,” Ashley said. “And we’ve got plenty of sun. But there are people here in Georgia who continue to mislead the public that solar doesn’t work here.”