SOLAR FEVER

As the world becomes increasingly aware of the need for renewable energy, many countries have raced to become the leaders in Solar energy.  This can be seen in the competition between the United States and China. President Obama made it his mission after entering office to make the US the top country in solar powered energy. But before his first year as Presdient was  completed, China seemed to be taking the lead. The driving factor behind this is that Chinese companies such as Suntech Power Holdings are selling solar panels for less than the cost of materials, assembly, and shipping. While the federal government invests strongly in the US market, the cheap labor in China (even for engineers) is fueling their competitive advantage. In addition the Chinese government is pouring resources into projects by offering subsidies to developers which includes free land and cash for development. While these two countries may be competing in the development stage, they are still not the top dogs when it comes to countries with the most installed solar energy.

Germany, Spain and Japan are the top three users of solar energy. Germany installed 3,806 megawatts of PV solar energy capacity in 2009 while Spain installed 3,386 and Japan installed 2,633 MW. With that said, these countries are becoming a lucrative market for the Chinese companies who can offer the product at the lowest price around the globe.  It will be interesting to see how these rankings will change as the global community continues to embrace the idea of renewable energy.

Sources:

http://1bog.org/blog/top-10-countries-using-solar-power/

http://1bog.org/blog/infographic-top-ten-countries-that-use-solar-energy/