Technology News - September 22, 2004

The German sunbelt

Germany is hardly the world’s sunniest country, but, thanks in large part to regulatory incentives, it is taking over the lead in developing commercial photovoltaic technology, according to ABI Research, a market-research firm. Global Photovoltaic Markets, which was released in September, reports that the global demand for solar electricity continues to outpace supply, in part because of growing concerns about environmental sustainability. Although Japanese companies, especially Sharp Electronics, led the solar-cell industry for years, the country’s governmental initiatives are beginning to expire. At the same time, Germany has begun subsidizing the sale of energy generated by photovoltaics and forcing utility companies to buy this power, ABI says. Big investors are building large solar “parks” covering many hectares—including the world’s largest at a site near Leipzig, once one of the most polluted areas of Germany, which went online this month—often on brownfield sites. However, in Germany, public opposition to the large installations is growing on both aesthetic and environmental grounds, according to ABI. For more information about the report, go to www.abiresearch.com/reports/PHO.html.