Siemens Goes to Rio Summit

Officials of Siemens Solar Industries in Camarillo are attending this month’s Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro with a goal of expanding the company’s market for solar energy-related business in developing countries.

“The potential is huge,” said William Howley, Siemens Solar’s chief of staff. “There are 2 billion people in the world who have no access to electricity. In many cases, solar energy is the answer to the problem.”

Howley is in Rio along with Siemens Solar’s president, Charles F. Gay.

Even without any new business resulting from the Earth Summit, Siemens Solar, a subsidiary of German electronics giant Siemens AG, plans to double its production of solar energy cells and modules in the next several years. The increase will add an unspecified number of new workers to the company’s payroll.

Siemens Solar, which says it is the largest producer of solar energy products in the world, has 400 employees in Camarillo.

“Solar is still a very small part of the total energy picture, but there are many forces working toward its expansion,” Howley said.

Siemens Solar recently was awarded a contract to build the first solar electric installation to support a commercial utility grid. Construction of the system will start soon at a Pacific Gas & Electric Co. site in Kerman, near Fresno, Howley said.

Earlier this year, Siemens also received a $10-million contract from the Department of Energy to develop low-cost, high-volume solar cells.