2011 WAS BIG FOR SUN

Solar Capacity Rose 54% to 28 Gigawatts Last Year, BNEF Says
Marc Roca, January 13, 2012 (Bloomberg News)

"New solar capacity around the world increased 54 percent to about 28 gigawatts last year driven by record installations in Germany and Italy, Bloomberg New Energy Finance data shows…Photovoltaic installations rose to between 26.5 and 29.4 gigawatts last year [estimated at 28 gigawatts], compared with 18.2 gigawatts during 2010….

"European governments from the Germany to Italy and the U.K. are curbing subsidies as prices for PV panels decline, aiming to choke off a boom in installations that started after they offered feed-in tariffs giving above-market rates for electricity from low-carbon sources…"

Yet nowhere near what it could do (click to enlarge)

"Solar installations grew around the world, driven by crashing panel prices…New spending on solar energy jumped 36 percent to $136.6 billion in 2011, outpacing the $74.9 billion put into wind power, and represented almost half of all renewable energy investment worldwide last year, BNEF said…

"…[But]the strength of installations in the fourth quarter isn’t a reason for optimism in 2012. European markets will slow because of subsidy cuts, and while nearly all the other markets will continue to grow, they are smaller."