Solar industry faces hard times

VALENCIA, Spain, and ROTTERDAM, The Netherlands, 21 August – Solar energy (PV) module production capacity will be almost twice as great as global market demand for PV by the end of this year. This could lead to an oversupply situation and can put many manufacturers in a difficult position.
The growing gap between supply and demand anticipated over the next few months could hit the solar industry hard. Since the solar industry is still largely dependent on government support and/or incentive schemes, demand is extremely vulnerable to changes in these schemes.

The Spanish government is still having discussions about a new feed-in tariff for 2009-2010, based on proposals for a cap on new installed power of 300 MWp. This would reduce the installed power in 2008 by at least 75%. In Germany the feed-in tariff will decrease by 9%. The US market is still waiting for the tax credit to be continued in 2009. With no certainty about incentives, growth in system sales could slow down at the end of 2008. Markets with a solid feed-in tariff structure, like Italy, France and Greece, are growing rapidly. The installed power in Italy is increasing exponentially, and figures for France and Greece will also be excellent over the coming years.
But are these relatively new and small markets capable alone of offsetting the slowdown in demand from Spain?
>> full article from Solarplaza.com