GPEC Travels to Europe to Encourage Solar Investment in Arizona
The Greater Phoenix Economic Council (GPEC) is embarking on an international sales mission to Austria, Germany and Spain, September 14 – 22 to draw more solar companies to Arizona. GPEC will be accompanied by representatives from the Arizona Department of Commerce and the City of Phoenix.
The GPEC delegation will meet with executives from more than 30 European companies considering U.S. expansion or investment, many of them in the solar technology industry. Additionally, GPEC will present to more than 50 German solar companies at the Solar Energy Boom conference in Berlin. Meetings are also scheduled with companies in the aerospace and biotechnology fields. Discussions will take place in Berlin, Munich, Stuttgart and Dresden, Germany; Klagenfurt, Austria; and Madrid, Barcelona and Seville, Spain.
“GPEC has gained tremendous traction by traveling to targeted international markets to pursue foreign direct investment,” said Barry Broome, GPEC president and CEO. “It is critical that we reach out to these European companies to capture opportunities that have a galvanizing, worldwide impact like solar energy development.”
GPEC seeks to develop a unique relationship with Germany, a country globally known as a solar industry leader. GPEC belongs to the German Solar Industry Association, while Germany is Arizona’s top foreign direct investor.
GPEC plans to increase foreign interest in Greater Phoenix and Arizona by highlighting the following: Arizona State University’s recent launch of a solar power laboratory led by top national researchers, the region’s semiconductor-concentrated workforce, its abundance of sun and its proximity to and advantageous cost of doing business over California, the world’s fourth largest solar market.
“Arizona offers a dynamic business climate and overall low costs that not many other regions can match,” says Jan Lesher, Director of the Arizona Department of Commerce. “The partnership in this endeavor illustrates Arizona at the forefront of solar and technology that can be sold around the world while helping improve the global environment.”
“This sales mission, organized by GPEC, will be a terrific opportunity to tell executives of European solar energy companies about the enormous opportunities for their companies in Greater Phoenix," according to Michael Shelton, the International Business Development Manager at the City of Phoenix. “We are confident this campaign will generate important investments and good quality jobs for the region.”
The European sales mission builds upon GPEC’s efforts to create high-wage jobs in Greater Phoenix through the rapidly expanding solar industry, while generating foreign direct investment (FDI). Earlier this month, GPEC launched Greening Greater Phoenix Powered by SolarCity, which promotes the region as an emerging leader in the solar and renewable energy industries. Additionally, GPEC president and CEO Barry Broome serves on the Arizona Economic Resource Organization’s (AERO) solar task force.
“This joint effort to promote Arizona’s solar assets abroad confirms our commitment to developing an industry concentration,” said Sal Rivera, executive director of AERO. “GPEC’s sales mission to Germany and Spain helps to shape the promise of a strong solar energy market in Arizona.”
GPEC’s last international sales missions, to the United Kingdom and Canada, had much success and are proven targets for FDI opportunities. Four UK companies opened sites in Greater Phoenix last fiscal year, generating more than 1,000 jobs and $11 million in capital investment.
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