Solar Industry Rising: Can Energy’s Fastest-Growing Sector Keep It Going?

SEIA, the Solar Energy Industries Association gave a presentation in New York on March 24 where president and CEO Rhone Resch said 2011 would be the year for solar.  The U.S., they explained, had never been the main destination nor market in solar.  But, with revenues in solar going from $3.6 billion in ’09 to $6 billion in ’10, a 67% increase in one year, solar was the fastest growing industry in the energy sector by far.  Costs, through the year, fell 20.5%.

Photovoltaic (PV) installations, the largest chunk of the market by far, are predicted to grow five-fold by 2015, with US global market share going from about 5% today to 15% in the same time period.  Large manufacturers of PV products, such as SunPower and China’s Suntech Power, are set to have long-term support in the medium to long run; the companies gained 12.6% and 13.2% respectively in the “Fukushima rally.”

Manufacturing is another segment that would benefit from the momentum picking up around solar.  According to SEIA numbers, 100,000 U.S. workers are in the solar industry, with 25,000 of them in the solar manufacturing sector.  Silicon wafers, used to manufacture solar devices, is also a main component in the semiconductor industry.  Companies such as MEMC Electronic materials, which gained 8.4% in the aforementioned rally, benefit from the diversification and safety they can derive from exposure to these two industries.

Author: Zhejiang Haining Tiange Solar Energy Science Technology Co., Ltd.
website:www.sunnyrainsolar.com
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