Recently, we held a roundtable discussion at Tigercomm headquarters in Rosslyn, Virginia with former Virginia Governor (now Senator-elect) Tim Kaine, as well as 10 clean economy business leaders from the mid-Atlantic region. One of those leaders was Alec Hoppes of AREVA Solar. Here's a brief description of AREVA's work in building the clean economy.
AREVA Solar designs, manufactures and installs solar steam generators for the global power generation and industrial steam needs of its customers in a dependable, market-competitive and environmentally responsible manner... AREVA uses global energy experience to deliver turnkey concentrated solar power (CSP) solutions that help customers thrive in a dynamic energy market.
In the Tigercomm clean economy forum, Hoppes noted AREVA's work "in the renewable space, both in offshore wind and in concentrated solar power." Hoppes explained that, "on the federal policy front," what concerns companies like AREVA is "the instability of the investment and production tax credits," the "general debate that is still far from resolved on the role of government in the energy sector," and whether the shale gas boom is "sending a false price signal that might be forestalling the kind of investments we need long term." Finally, Hoppes pointed to the importance of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) education so that U.S. companies can have the "deep talent pool" they need "to deliver these kind of new technologies to market" for years to come.
