Gina DiCaro of CMTA implied in his piece, California’s cap-and-trade needs to be well designed to protect manufacturers, that California’s landmark clean energy law, AB 32, threatens our state’s manufacturing industry.
Manufacturing in California has faced a range of threats for some time as a result of larger economic trends – including heavy investment by the Chinese government to grow Chinese manufacturing companies in virtually every sector. But AB 32 actually represents an important part of the solution because it has helped to drive investment in the fastest growing sector of California’s economic future: clean energy innovation, which is helping our state usher in the manufacturing jobs of the future.
In the few years since AB 32 was adopted, more than $11 billion in venture capital has been invested in California, at a time when our economy needed it the most. In fact, the National Venture Capital Association estimates that each $100 million in venture capital funding will help create 2,700 jobs directly and support other jobs indirectly, while generating $500 million in annual revenue over two decades.
Earlier this year, our company, Solaria, opened a new solar panel manufacturing plant in Fremont, CA. And we are now actively evaluating a decision to locate a second factory in California. We are moving in this direction precisely because California’s regulatory and business environment make it a natural for companies like ours.
Solaria makes and sells cost-effective photovoltaic modules for large-scale solar power projects. We have invested more than $100 million dollars and hired hundreds of people in California because of California’s vision to move away from polluting fossil fuels and toward a clean energy future, through AB 32, the Renewable Portfolio Standard, net metering law, and other policies to encourage the growth of clean energy jobs here in California.
These laws have the strong support of the people of California, as the vote last November showed when more Californians cast ballots to support AB 32 than voted for any other single issue or candidate on election day.
AB 32 puts a cap on greenhouse gas emissions and then creates a market for reducing those emissions, and that represents a huge business opportunity. I agree with Mr. DiCaro that the California Air Resources Board’s recent decision to adjust the enforcement calendar is a good move – it gives businesses and the state an extra year to make sure the market works as it should. And groups like CMTA have had a seat at the table with CARB as the rules have been developed.
Cap and trade levels the playing field, so that clean energy – a sector where California can lead in innovation and job growth – can compete fairly with the heavily-subsidized fossil fuel industry. The business community should put its full weight and support behind full implementation of AB 32. Doing so translates into economic opportunity for our state as a whole: new jobs, new businesses, and a more sustainable and profitable future for us all.