Commerce secretary: Energy entrepreneurs will lift U.S.

BY KATHLEEN GRAY • FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER

High energy prices in Europe are causing 80% of the solar panels built in Michigan by United Solar Ovonics to be shipped overseas.

But company officials were buoyed today after a visit from U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke, who said that the Obama administration’s commitment to renewable energy will help transform the state.

“Hopeful is how I feel about the future of Michigan and America. I know Washington, D.C., can only do so much. So it will take the spirit of American entrepreneurs to dig us out,” Locke said during a town hall meeting at one of United Solar Ovonics plants in Auburn Hills.

“American workers are designing and building components that are changing the way people are using energy. And that’s the way to go until economy is humming again," Locke said. "But I know we’re going to get there because of companies like United Solar Ovonics."

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