13abc – The Toledo area is the silicon valley of renewable energy. That's how U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown sees it. He was here checking out First Solar and showing it off.

When United States Senator Sherrod Brown got an up-close look at how solar panels are made, so did a representative from the U.S. Department of Commerce. "I mean, I think it's very critical to recognize the potential that companies like First Solar offer to this country," says Nicole Lamb-Hale.

Nicole Lamb-Hale, the Assistant Secretary of Commerce, was in Perrysburg Wednesday afternoon examining First Solar. Local high school and college students were there, too.

Lake high school student Carly Huston says, "I was definitely excited to come and see. I mean, it's a beautiful factory. It's not like some of the other factories. It's very clean. I would want to work here."

At the head of the tour was Senator Brown. He plans to re-introduce a bill to train workers for skilled jobs in emerging industries like solar energy. Sherrod Brown says, "And that's why we're so well-positioned to be the silicon valley of clean energy, because we know how to do all these things."

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