Oliver's Comments

One more Do: Do tweet whenever Solar Fred posts a blog on RenewableEnergyWorld.com.

Remember, you can have a blog on RenewableEnergyWorld.com. Contact us on how to set it up. It's easy and free. So come in out of the blogging wilderness where nobody pays attention and get your renewable energy-related blog in front of the world's largest renewable energy specific audience.

Nice post Tom. Thanks! A good example of the volatility in the sector is Trina Solar (TSL). They have been consistently profitable and again reported excellent revenue and earnings numbers today, but then got pummeled to the tune of a 5% drop in the share price. The cause for this drop is not exactly clear. Sure, Germany will not grow next year, but other markets are coming on pretty strong and module prices are no longer dropping the way they were last year and earlier this year. In fact, many module manufacturers expect to be able to increase prices slightly over the coming months. So, what gives? I would love to hear from all our readers on this.

Go Giants! Vote no on Prop 23!

Very interesting post, but it would be better if you told us what you have done with your two renewable energy clients?

Another good idea, we will look at that as well.

Nice report Christof. Keep 'em coming.

Ed, Those numbers are estimates, but of production, not capacity. Not sure of Inventux, but I will check it out.

cbdh19 (you really should create an easier to type user name), I am working on a list of top solar integrators. Look for something coming to this blog in the near future.

OK, Daniel, you were absolutely right. The 12+GW number was production capacity in 2009, but the actual production/installation of PV was around 7.5-8.5GW depending on what report you believe. I have update the numbers above.

Neat analysis. I wonder if you could add RenewableEnergyWorld.com as a comparison to the top 10 solar companies?

Also, wondering how much impact these link backs from the blog section on our site have? I would imagine that search engines will see that there is an active conversation about these companies and that it is valuable to people searching for solar.

My blog post from yesterday is already first page if you search for top 10 solar pv companies.

Daniel, not that you mention it, it does sound high. I think I must have confused production capacity with actual production. I will double check the numbers and fix them if necessary.

Great blog post Liz. As a graduate of the SEI training, I could not agree more with your conclusion that hands-on education is a must have for anyone interested in a technical job in this industry.

As the publisher of this online magazine I think that some of the best preparation for any training course is to learn as much as possible about the industry, the products and the business of renewable energy, online.

Oliver

cbdh19 - I think that all of us at RenewableEnergyWorld.com do make the EV+PV connection, but we also want to be realistic that we are not going to get rid off all gasoline powered vehicles overnight. I believe the current fleet of vehicles on the road is replaced every 14-15 years. So, even if we started only producing/selling/buying EV it would still take more than a decade to switch from oil to electricity as our transportation fuel and, of course, that's not a realistic scenario.

However, I think one of the reasons to put PV on the White House should include charging a presidential EV.

Readers, give us more reasons to put solar back on the White House!

Here are some reasons why President Obama may want to accept this gift from the solar industry.

1. It's a statement to the World that the U.S. is getting serious about energy independence and making the shift to renewables
2. It would reduce fossil fuel based energy consumption at the White House and nicely complement the organic garden the Obamas have planted
3. The White House could finally be part of the Solar Decathlon, ok, not really, but like Tor said, it would be a very nice demonstration of solar power on a building
4. It's completely FREE, why wouldn't the taxpayers want to do this. As a matter of fact, it will save taxpayers tens of thousands of dollars over the next 20 years
5. It's a whole lot better to be remembered as the President that put solar back on the White House than for the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico

more later...