Crossroads: Raj Mehta, Infosys International, Inc.
Infosys chief executive Raj Mehta, in his Plainview office, shows sketches for solar panels to be produced by his new business, Resq Solar Corp. (May 2010) Credit: Kathy Kmonicek
Raj Mehta, founder and chief executive of Infosys International, Inc. Recently founded RESQ Solar Corp.
Economic outlook: Solar energy, green tech is the Island's future.
Jobs outlook: Producing solar panels and other green tech products will generate jobs, though less than past manufacturing giants.
The solar energy, green technology is the one that will take out Long Island from this status of economy. . . . Currently we are dependent on . . . foreign oil obviously from the Middle East. . . . LIPA is depending . . . on oil for generating the electricity. . . . If we don't do anything now, here, we will be depending in five years on solar panels from China or Germany or Japan, somewhere outside. So I am taking initiative to start solar panel manufacturing on Long Island, which is very possible.
The challenges are obviously higher property taxes and the high utility costs. And as I said before, because the 91 percent of the electricity generated on Long Island is dependent on foreign oil, if we move on solar then that 91 percent could become 9 percent or 19 percent or 29 percent. . . . So I would only say that alternative energy is going to be ruling the next two decades. There are other technologies like biotech, nanotech, they are also there. They will be very powerful. . . . Technology will be coming up all the time, new technologies.
