A California-based public policy group says New Mexico has the potential to create several thousand more jobs over the next decade if it focuses on the high-tech side of the evolving solar industry.
The American Jobs Project released its report Tuesday, touting the state's connection to two national laboratories, research universities and abundant sunshine.
The nonprofit group's recommendations include improving access to capital and bolstering commercialization of innovations made at the labs and universities like coatings and flexible solar cells.
The report also notes that New Mexico lost one-quarter of its manufacturing jobs since the start of the recession.
Jeff Mitchell with the University of New Mexico's Bureau of Business and Economic Research says the idea isn't to compete with China but rather to build the state's capacity to get in on the ground floor with new technologies.
