Solar energy industry's situation bittersweet
While BP Solar has no plans for layoffs in Maryland, it will put its new 140,000-square-foot, $30 million building up for lease or sale this fall, said spokesman Tom Mueller. While demand for solar panels is still intact, foreign startups are bringing stiff competition to the industry.
"In the last 10 years, technology has advanced significantly in the solar front," Mueller said. "The cost of producing equipment starts to go down as new technology is being introduced … That's the ongoing challenge — keeping up with technology and competing with the cost structure of startups. How do we compete with these new competitors?"
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Solar's prospects dim, at least for near term
Applications for new solar projects have plunged in recent months in California as homeowners and business owners struggle to get credit and rein in spending on big-ticket items such as a rooftop full of solar panels. . .
The drop in applications for solar homes parallels the near-freeze in the overall housing market. New-home construction fell to a record low in 2008 in California, according to the California Building Industry Association, and January data hints that 2009 could be even worse.
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