Loss of jobs can be overcome with planning

Published Tuesday, November 25, 2008

I just read Joel Myrhre's editorial regarding Banner Engineering closing. I must say I had similar thoughts. I will add a little wondering to Joel's well-stated points.

There is now a soon-to-be idle plant in Fergus Falls. A plant tooled up to make photo electric cells. I wonder how difficult it would be to tell the computers which run those machines. that instead of making photoelectric switches, those computers are now going to make phovoltaic cells.

I wonder if there may be a local company with an existing stake in generating electricity. A stake in metal fabrication and even PVC fabrication.

I wonder if all of the best and brightest minds of all of those elements couldn't be brought to focus on utilizing an existing plant, with an eager, experienced workforce, to switch missions from making trigger switches for bottle capping machines to instead make photovoltaic cells, which could be combined in large panels for the creation of electricity.

These photovoltaic panels could be mounted on panels which could be placed or rotated as need be to take full advantage of our daily sunshine. The technology for this application has existed for some time.

I wonder if, for example, the right-of-way corridor for the needed power grid enhancement for moving wind-generated power wouldn't provide space for a few acres of photovoltaic panels. All of those panels creating electricity which could be stored in battery banks sited within the same transmission corridor.

Such an endeavor would not only save 74 jobs. Such an

endeavor could create several times that many jobs in ancilliary

businesses. I'm just wondering.

Ned Jimmerson

Underwood