Schwarzenegger’s Legacy: California – A Green Hub

The most noteworthy achievement of Schwarzenegger’s governorship is AB32, the state’s landmark global warming law. This groundbreaking effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions has created a momentum for investments in the state. Here is one of the success stories:

Mounting Systems, a major supplier of solar mounting systems based in Rangsdorf, Germany, has chosen West Sacramento for its first North American facility.  The newly incorporated U.S. company and subsidiary of Mounting Systems GmbH and Conergy AG, recently signed a lease with Riverside Business Center for 59,000 square feet of industrial space at 820 Riverside Parkway, and will begin operations in January 2011.  The company will ultimately bring 100 new jobs to the region.

Mounting Systems will have both its headquarters and manufacturing operations based at Riverside Business Center. The Sacramento Region was chosen for its strong solar marketplace in California, proximity to state government entities, accessibility to solar partners and programs, relatively low cost of operations, and business-friendly environment. The company’s new location is within an Enterprise Zone, which also allows Mounting Systems access to those benefits to support their operations.

Kasim Ersoy, CEO: “Besides the obvious advantage of being in the hot spot of the solar market and a major logistical hub on the West Coast, we identified the Sacramento region as a place where everybody is determined to do whatever it takes to help a company to get setup. I, personally would like to thank all parties involved and I am sure that more cleantech companies will find their way to Sacramento”.

The Sacramento Area Commerce and Trade Organization (SACTO), Governor’s Office of Economic Development (GoED), and the City of West Sacramento, all worked diligently on this project for almost a year to assist Mounting Systems.

This success story is another indication of the growing prominence of the region as a “green hub”, with a particular strength in the solar industry. In my opinion, California is and will be a green hub. Schwarzenegger’s legacy: He changed course and prepared California for the 21st century.

Helge Biernath is the President & CEO of Carbon2Efficiency, an energy efficiency engineering company in the Bay Area with the main focus on commercial buildings. His company consulted Mounting Systems on the site selection and helped the company enter the U.S. market.