Applied Materials is a major supplier of equipment to the semiconductor industry. In many ways the innovations by Applied Materials enables the rest of the semiconductor industry to continue moving forward. In any case they have made a series of acquisitions of companies specializing in solar power manufacturing tools. The latest is Baccini, a European company specializing in manufacturing tools.
There is a lot of new investment and research and product development in clean energy technology in Silicon Valley.
Cleantech Venture Network, an industry trade group, estimates that clean energy investment in Silicon Valley topped $500 million last year, including not just venture capital but also corporate and some debt financing.
...Forty-year-old Applied Materials, the biggest supplier of tools for making microchips, added solar cell manufacturing to its repertoire last year, and is equipping its Sunnyvale research center in Silicon Valley with one of the largest sun-powered energy systems in the United States.
A husband and wife team living off the grid in the deserts of West Texas. On their web site they publish an extensive collection of information on alternative energy and other forms of sustainable living necessary to live off the grid.
