Although a number of companies, including Solyndra and
Evergreen Solar went out of business entirely in the US, installations of solar
panels have skyrocketed 69 percent in the second quarter from a year earlier,
thanks largely to commercial and government projects, according to an industry
trade group report released Tuesday. U.S. manufacturing is an entirely
different story, where success is mixed and highly dependent on where the
products are headed.
For the concentrating solar power market and concentrating
photovoltaics, there are currently 600 MW under construction in the US, with an
additional 7 GW at various stages of development.
The only segment of the solar power market which did not
grow in the Q2 2011 was the residential PV market, which declined for the
second consecutive quarter. During Q2, 60 MW were installed, a decline of 5.7%
over the previous year. However, the Solar Market Insight expects the
residential market to pick up, as residential solar-leasing programs expand.
Meanwhile, companies that make solar products in the U.S.
and sell directly to the domestic market have fared much better. The U.S. solar
market is the fastest growing market in the world, Rhone Resch, executive
director of the Solar Energy Industries Association said in a teleconference
Tuesday to discuss the industry report.
Foreign and domestic companies keen on tapping the U.S.
market are increasingly building factories here. Resch made particular note of
Chinese solar panel maker Suntech Power, which opened last year a
117,000-square-foot plant in Goodyear, Arizona. In May, the company added a
third production shift.
This growth in solar power market in the US has an impact here in the Philippines as more US base solar cell companies put up manufacturing plants in different parts of the countries either as direct manufacturers or in sub-contractors.
source: smartplanet
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