Solar Power World

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Yesterday, I received an email from Mortenson Construction, with a link to a report about the industry that they conducted at the 2011 SPI Show. Though the sample size was relatively small (265), but the report still had some interesting information from it that I thought I would share with you:

• 67% of professionals the company spoke with said their organizations have experienced significant growth in their businesses over the past year (so much for a collapsing industry, as so manyhave claimed).
• 93% of developers and independent power providers (IPPs) expect their solar business to grow to grow in 2012, while only 40% of utility companies expect the same (which points to something I sense — the distribution system for solar will not be long tethered to the utilities at all — but that’s the subject for a future post).
• 48% of respondents say natural gas will not pose a risk to the long-term development of renewables, while 42% say natural gas will diminish the growth in renewables somewhat, but the industry will continue to grow and develop.
• Well over half of participants felt solar will achieve grid parity with fossil fuels within the next 10 years.
• Some participants are also worried that political developments or power fossil fuel lobbyists would erode government support for renewables (this is a fear I have, too — that’s why the industry should really get behind the SEIA, especially after their merger with the Solar Alliance).

There’s a lot more to the 12-page report. I highly recommend that you read the entire report, which can be found here.