The Bright Future of Solar Power

In the world today, clean energy sources are becoming more valuable each day with the growing concerns to protect our environment. The energy industry includes many different variations of these renewable energies including: wind power, hydropower, solar power, geothermal power, and biomass power. Nowadays, renewable energy businesses can be found in countries all around the world.

Businesses involved in solar power have experienced steady growth over this past year. In fact, the amount of electricity generated by solar energy companies has doubled in 2010. This increase of production creates enough energy to power 200,000 additional homes and also strengthens the market with clean-tech jobs. Next year solar companies in the United States are expecting to hire more employees, boosting the nation’s solar workforce by 26%. Based on a study, about 93,000 people work in the U.S. solar energy industry which is valued at $6 billion. Over the past decade, the domestic solar market has grown more than 50% each year.

The solar energy market is growing rapidly in the United States but global competition is heating up as well. In 2010, manufacturers in China and Taiwan have produced 80% of the silicon cells used in solar panels. Chinese solar panel manufacturers supply the majority of the European market and 40% of the main U.S. market. Chinese companies have helped lowered prices of solar panels by cutting the cost of production with new technology. By doing this, China grabbed a major share in the solar energy market at a rather quick pace. A solar energy company in the U.S. responded by opening a $733 million factory intended to compete with China by lowering production costs of solar panels. At some point, companies in other countries may also join in this competition.

The future is bright for solar power as it can protect our environment and bolster the world’s economy. Increased global competition provides aid in accelerating the development of the solar power industry. As we all know, a little healthy competition is always beneficial in the business world.