Second Gold Rush In Renewable Technology Personal Energy Development Will Rule The World

Sacramento Solar News – Whoever leads the technology in renewable energy for the next generation will earn the future of mankind. The solar, wind and other sustainable power race is heating up and California is in a prime position to put some wood on the ball. (Which is another really good reason to vote NO on prop 23)

Nations and utility companies all over the world are entering the solar panel and solar installation ballgame with subsidies for a very good reason. Solar and renewables technologies can revitalize economies everywhere. Driving solar prices down will benefit everyone, it’s that simple.

The only thing at stake is the future structure of civilization which is dependent on which competing industry wins the race for personal energy. Powering your home, cars, electronics and your life with cheap locally non-fossil fuel produced energy is key for one very good reason.

You can produce your own electricity from locally installed solar and wind energy or you can buy it at high rates from central private power monopolies who will sell it to you for $5 and charge you $100 to deliver it. Read More

Rick Merritt, EE Times Analyst sees second gold rush in solar. A new round of government subsidies for solar panels could drive second gold rush in the solar market, according to a financial analyst.

Canada and a number of European countries including the Czech Republic, Germany, Italy, France and the U.K. are gearing up subsidies for solar photovoltaics. The new efforts will surpass solar installation and manufacturing subsidies offered by Spain and Germany that generated a gold rush from 2007-2010, said Vishal Shah and analyst with Barclays Capital Clean Technology in a report released September 24.

“On an absolute basis, solar subsidies in many markets are expected to be higher in 2011,” Shah wrote. “We expect demand to exceed low cost supply during this second growth phase,” he added.

Specifically, solar panel subsidies will range from $7.85 per Watt in the Czech Republic to $10.28/Watt in Canada. That far exceeds the subsidies of $7.36/W in Spain and $4.56 in Germany.

Barclays believes solar polysilicon makers will reap the highest gross margins in the solar industry at about 20 percent. Makers of solar wafers and cells will follow at about 15 percent with solar module makers and solar installers trailing at about 10 percent gross margins.

Most solar installers in the U.S. market are unable to get sufficient solar panels due to current strong demand in Europe, said Shah. Several European solar installers are looking to enter the U.S. solar installation market in 2011 and already have solar projects representing sales of 40-50 Mega Watts in the pipeline, he added.

Economies around the world remain broken. Working hard to lead sustainable energy, California is helping to change that one solar panel installation at a time.