We’re all waiting for it — the inevitable shakeout of companies in the solar industry as it matures. Those with good business models will survive, and those with poor models won’t. Which leads me to this interesting article that I saw yesterday from Sustainable Business magazine.
It’s a handicapping of which solar companies Sustainable Business believe will make it through the shakeout unscathed. It posits that the German companies are in the most danger of folding (a pity, really, given that they played such pivotal role in propelling this industry forward). It obviously goes through the most recent bankruptcies in the United States, and talks about SolarWorld and First Solar as the likely survivors (my only quibble is the idea that SolarWorld feels threatened by the Chinese — I believe SolarWorld put its name on the international trade complaint because of its high-profile, not because they fear the competition — that’s just my $1.25).
The most interesting part of the article for me is that even Chinese companies are beginning to struggle a bit as PV panel prices have plummeted, despite strong government support. But the Chinese government is jumping in to save its solar industry. The plan from their government is to close down the smaller players and create a handful of larger players that will compete with U.S. companies.
I hope the International Trade Commission is paying attention — if this isn’t proof of unfair competition, I don’t know what is.
Tell Us What You Think!