Olaf Koester to hear German Chancellor Angela Merkel discuss transatlantic ties
WASHINGTON – U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords has invited the leader of a Tucson solar manufacturing company to attend a joint session of Congress on Tuesday.
Olaf Koester, the president and CEO of Solon Corporation, will be in the gallery as German Chancellor Angela Merkel speaks to lawmakers about the close, longstanding relationship between her country and the United States.
Giffords, a leading proponent of solar energy in Congress, asked Koester to join her at the speech because of his personal and professional ties to Germany.
Giffords’ Solar Technology Roadmap Act was approved by the House of Representatives on October 22 by a 3-to-1 margin. The bill is aimed at boosting federal research for the development of solar energy technology.
Solon Corporation is owned by Solon SE, one of the largest manufacturers of solar modules in Europe and a major supplier of photovoltaic systems for large-scale solar power plants. The company is based in Berlin, Germany and has offices in Austria, Italy, and Switzerland.
Solon has had a presence in Tucson since 2007 and employs about 100 people at its state-of-the-art production facility on South Country Club Road. At the plant’s grand opening in October 2008, the Tucson Regional Economic Organization said it expects Solon Corporation to be a cornerstone of large scale economic development in Southern Arizona.
Merkel is the first female chancellor of Germany. Like Koester, she was born in Hamburg. Merkel is a physicist by training who was recently elected to a second term. Her address to Congress comes as Germany prepares to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall.
Only one other German chancellor has spoken to American lawmakers – Konrad Adenauer in 1957.