U.S. Labor Secretary Hilda L. Solis and Rep. John Hall Visit Solar Cell Manufacturer
Tuesday, 30 March 2010
- Green Jobs Highlighted During Tour of SpectraWatt in Hopewell Junction, NY-
CARMEL, NY – U.S. Labor Secretary Hilda L. Solis and Congressman John Hall spent the morning today touring SpectraWatt, a manufacturer of crystalline silicon solar cells, here at the company’s new high tech manufacturing facility in the Hudson Valley Research Park in Hopewell Junction, NY. The company, which currently employs 60 and plans to hire five more people next week, chose the site because of the area’s existing infrastructure and ease of access to a skilled workforce.
SpectraWatt, located in an old IBM facility space in Hopewell Junction, expects to be hiring even more workers later this year, with the prospect of creating more than a hundred additional green jobs next year as the company ramps up to full speed. The company will formally open its doors later this spring.
“President Obama and I understand and believe that the first thing we have to do to turn the economy around is provide American families with good jobs,” said Sec. Solis. “That is why we are committed to investing in greening our economy. Green jobs pay 10-20% more and will be home-grown and not outsourced.”
“Good energy policy can be good economic policy, and SpectraWatt is a clear example of this,” said Rep. Hall. “As we enact policies that encourage the use of renewable technologies, it can only help to spur development at companies like this. Here, we’re rebuilding our energy policy and infrastructure, while also boosting our manufacturing base.”
In his introductory remarks, Rep. Hall noted that Sec. Solis, formerly his colleague on the House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming, was the author of the Green Jobs Act, which has provided millions of dollars in funding for “green” collar job training for veterans, displaced workers, at risk youth and individuals in families under 200 percent of the federal poverty line.
“We are delighted to have Secretary Solis and Congressman Hall visit our facility here in New York as we continue to hire and prepare for our grand opening in May,” said SpectraWatt CEO Andrew Wilson.