Lack of demand causes solar energy slump

NY Times:

A run of poor earnings has dampened confidence in once-booming solar companies.

Shares in LDK Solar, a Chinese solar manufacturer, fell by 18 percent today after the company reported a larger than expected second-quarter loss.

Shares in JA Solar, another Chinese company, fell nearly 8 percent today after its earnings report on Wednesday; the company’s revenue dropped by 51 percent compared with a year earlier.

For manufacturers, the problem largely boils down to a sharp drop in panel prices amid increased supply and tighter demand. Panel prices have fallen by close to 40 percent from their peak last spring, estimates Chris Whitman, the president of U.S. Solar Finance, which helps arrange bank financing for solar projects.

...
Even with prices falling 40 percent it is still hard to get a payback during a normal lifetime for the added cost over conventional energy. What it is going to take is a price that allows someone to go off the grid and get an amortized payback of 10 years or less to make these products attractive. Doing it to make AlGore happy is not going to be enough.

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