America is known for having focus. The tech boom of the nineties, the dot com boom of the 2000's, but what was the focus of the past decade? What are we focused on today?

Retired General Wesley Clark, who was recently added to SoloPower's Board of Directors, lifted the veil on our current industry boom this morning during the keynote session at PVAmerica West in San Jose, Calif. He declared that we are now in the midst of an energy revolution — whether America wants to admit it or not.

Clark explained that we need to arm ourselves with industry growth not by focusing on taxes and spending cuts, but by encouraging renewable innovation and manufacturing — and solar is on the frontlines. There won’t be a lack of competition in this race. 

“There are a lot of smart people beyond our borders working just as hard. China is growing 10 percent a year for 30 years — it can be done and it has been done in [the U.S. in the] past. We need to focus on energy — that is the key,” said Clark. “We spend $300 billion per year to import foreign oil, which equals to about a $1,000 per-person-tax on the public.”

The solar industry needs to focus on creating a new energy vision, rather than seeing the energy landscape as a shrinking pie that it needs to scramble to get a piece of. According to Clark, this vision is based on making energy cheaper and more plentiful, and renewables are the sources we need to get there.  

Clark closed with a quote from Theodore Roosevelt: “‘The greatest gift life has to offer is the opportunity to work hard at work worth doing.’ We are working at what’s worth doing. We face a climate challenge that dwarfs anything we have ever had before. This industry is key to that solution – so lets get on with it.”