The newspaper headlines trigger a double take. A recent front-page article in the Pittsburgh Business Times described recent growth of the solar energy industry in Western Pennsylvania. Other newspapers in the region also have reported on this unexpected development.

It would not be surprising to see such stories in the Phoenix Business Times, but Pittsburgh?

It's worth noting that while Western Pennsylvania gets considerably less sunshine than Arizona, it does get more sunny days than Germany, which today is the world leader in solar technology and installations.

A combination of factors is fueling growth in solar energy in this region, not recognized for its sunny weather. State and federal incentives play a role, as does the expected technology-driven decline in the cost of electricity produced by photovoltaic panels.

Some industry leaders are predicting that within a decade, the cost of solar-generated electricity will be competitive with electricity produced with fossil fuels, meaning mostly coal, but also natural gas.

In Pennsylvania, the lifting of caps on electricity prices is also expected to improve the competitive position of solar and other sustainable energy power systems.

Last month, two companies from California and one from Oregon established operations in the region. Along with those developments, a Maryland-based solar panel installer opened an office in eastern Ohio to service this region.

Early this month, a Pittsburgh newspaper reported on a former Westinghouse engineer's plan to convert a former railroad roundhouse in McKeesport into a manufacturing plant that makes solar collectors that look like slate shingles.

The article noted that other solar manufacturers and installers were being drawn to the region. These developments suggest that a critical mass could be developing to help this new industry take root in the area. Technology talent is available here as are plenty of empty industrial buildings with histories going back to the region's manufacturing glory days.

If plans by United States Green Energy Corp., a Fredericksburg, Va., solar energy firm, go forward, the roundhouse of the former U.S. Steel Corp. mill site will become a manufacturing site with the company's solar-collectors installed on the roof to make the building energy self-sufficient — as well as an appropriate demonstration site.

At this point, employment figures for the solar energy industry here are in the hundreds. But over time, those figures could grow to the thousands.

The sustainable-energy sector is developing technology that benefits from government financial support at the federal and state levels. As conventional electricity becomes more expensive, solar, wind and other forms of sustainable energy supplies will become more competitive.

Government support is helpful and appropriate now, but the sustainable energy industries eventually must be able to stand on their own as cost-competitive. Powerful interests in fossil-fuel industries will no doubt try to roll back existing, or thwart new, sustainable energy subsidies. But with improved technologies and increased awareness of the need to shift toward sustainable, nonpolluting technologies, the clean-energy sector could mature into a major industry in this century.

Some people pooh-poohed the personal computer when it first emerged. Clearly the PC has evolved into an essential technology. Likewise, the sustainable energy sector needs to grow and mature to see which technologies are most promising.

Seeing the sustainable energy industry, including solar, put down roots in Western Pennsylvania is encouraging. This region's strengths in manufacturing, technology and innovation could be a good match for continued growth of this emerging industry.