In late 2008, with the help of Portland General Electric and other Oregon economic development groups, German-based SolarWorld became the largest solar company to set up shop in the Portland area. The company moved in to a vacant Hillsboro silicon-wafer production facility.

The move underscores how Oregon’s silicon forest is a ready resource for the area’s growing solar industry, which is also based on silicon technology.

“We’d like the Pacific Northwest to become a leader in solar excellence in the U.S. and a recognized player worldwide,” Beisner says.

Oregon is well positioned for this, he says, because it offers a workforce that knows silicon technology, a network of vendors and suppliers, and an education system supportive of silicon-industry training.

PGE lends expertise
The economic development team from PGE played an important partnership role in bringing SolarWorld to Oregon.

“Charlie Allcock came to our facility in Germany. He met with the local utility to better understand our power needs,” Beisner says. “He confirmed that PGE could meet SolarWorld’s power quality and reliability requirements now and as the company expands in the future.”

Powering the economy
Facilities like SolarWorld will help reduce the cost of solar power and accelerate residential and commercial installations of solar panels. They’ll also increase the number of green jobs: SolarWorld’s Hillsboro site has more than 500 employees and expects that number to grow to 1,000 by 2011.

For Beisner, who, among other things, is in charge of community affairs, legal affairs and human resources, that translates to a lot of late nights at the office. “Since my wife got here, I’m going home much earlier,” he insists. By “earlier,” he means about 8 p.m.

Powering the community
Even so, Beisner is fine with it. His excitement is palpable as he describes some of the projects SolarWorld is involved in: providing solar panels for the EcoTrust building’s new rooftop array; collaborating on an idea to “solar-ize” the town of Vernonia as it rebuilds from storm damage; partnering with PGE and the Oregon Department of Transportation on Oregon’s first “solar highway,” in Tualatin.

For him, the payoff of his work makes the long hours worthwhile.

“You can have a long day at the office, or even a really bad day,” Beisner explains. “But you don’t mind, because you can see the difference you’re making in the world.”