PG&E backs solar development center

PG&E says it's supporting the center as part of its push for more renewables. Photo credit NREL.

California utility PG&E has asked state regulators for permission to direct $35.6 million in ratepayer funds to a facility dedicated to developing new solar technologies.

The Silicon Valley Technology Center is being built by San Jose-based SVTC Technologies, a semiconductor company that launched its solar business unit in 2008 and which currently runs two development foundries.

The center would be a place for companies developing new solar technologies to move their products towards commercialization, sharing manufacturing tools and equipment with other startups, as well as hosting workforce-training courses, according to PG&E.

SVTC Technologies, which has signed a lease for an 87,000-square-foot site in San Jose, has also applied for $98 million in U.S. Department of Energy grant funds to get the center up and running, PG&E said. The utility would be reimbursed for its investment in the center, which is expected to sustain itself financially through fees paid by users.

For its part, PG&E has “a strong interest in seeing the center succeed,” utility spokeswoman Christine Cordner wrote on the company’s blog. The utility is looking to expand its renewable energy portfolio to meet state renewable energy mandates.