Market Research Shows World Solar Industry May Pick Up
The New York Times reports that despite a well-publicized oversupply of products and excess manufacturing capacity for solar photovoltaic equipment and components, some solar power industry watchers are still predicting further robust growth in production capacity. But financial analysts fear numerous makers may fail over the next few years.
But lone research firm Austin, Texas-based DisplaySearch, a division of the global market research firm NPD Group, predict the worldwide manufacturing capacity for solar cells will expand by 56 percent this year over 2008 levels. 2009 is seen as one of the weakest market years this decade, with even DisplaySearch admitting that demand is down by some 17 percent this year, while others see a decline of up to 30 percent.
Will the market research prove to be true for this fledgling market, or will we see a loss in solar energy across the United States?