Obama calls spill ‘heartbreaking,’ touts alternative fuel sources in California factory visit

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As engineers worked to contain the oil gushing into in the Gulf of Mexico, President Obama said Wednesday morning that the “heartbreaking” spill underscored the need for alternative fuel sources.
After touring a solar panel factory in the San Francisco Bay Area suburb of Fremont, Obama decried the risks taken in deep-water oil drilling, noting that “part of what’s happening in the gulf is that oil companies are drilling a mile under water before they hit ground and then a mile below that before they hit oil, with increased risks and increased costs.’

“We are not going to be able to sustain this kind of fossil fuel use,” he told workers at Solyndra Inc., who had gathered in the company’s half-finished factory, which is being built with the help of a $535-million federal loan guarantee.
Obama said he had spoken earlier with Energy Secretary Steven Chu about British Petroleum’s efforts to cap the gushing oil well via a so-called top kill. “If it’s successful – and there are no guarantees,” Obama said, “it should greatly reduce or eliminate the flow of oil.”

Around 200 demonstrators greeted the president on the sidewalks outside of Solyndra, protesting immigration, offshore oil drilling and cuts to the state’s childcare budget. Obama met with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who accompanied him during his remarks.
Even as the federal government deals with the crisis in the gulf, Obama warned that, “around the world, from China to Germany, our competitors are waging an historic effort to lead in developing new energy technologies. There are factories like this being built in China, factories like this being built in Germany.”

While citing the administration’s investment in renewable energy, he also said that America “risks falling behind” in the global economy if the country does not continue its efforts.
“Fifteen years ago, the United States produced 40% of the world’s solar panels,” Obama told workers, some in hard hats and safety vests. “By 2008, our share had fallen to just over 5%. I don’t know about you, but I’m not prepared to cede America’s leadership in this industry.”

Solyndra has become the administration’s Exhibit A when it defends the federal stimulus package. Through the loan guarantee, the company is building a new 30,000-square-foot factory. That construction, which is ongoing, has created 3,000 new jobs. The firm estimates that the new factory could create up to 1,000 permanent jobs.

Obama’s appearance followed a fund-raising visit to San Francisco on Tuesday night on behalf of Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.)

-- Maria L. La Ganga in Fremont, Calif.