Solar Energy Booming, Solar Companies Going Bust

The Solar Energy Paradox: Why Solar Is Booming and Companies Are Going Out of Business; Why are solar companies going out of business as the industry grows? The explanation is fairly simple, and it may continue to happen over and over again.

Travis Hoium, October 7, 2016 (The Motley Fool)

“There may not be a business with a higher potential than the solar industry has today…[T]he solar industry is growing and cutting costs, leading to an even bigger market. By 2020, the solar industry is projected to install nearly 100 GW of solar annually, which would be enough to power 16.4 million homes…[Yet] solar companies continue to struggle -- and even go out of business. In just over a year, First Solar, SunPower, and SolarCity have seen their stocks plunge, and SunEdison has filed for the biggest U.S. bankruptcy of the year…[As companies build manufacturing plants (usually with borrowed money), the falling cost of panels drives them out of business while solar developers] use lower panel prices to be more competitive…Solar developers are effectively bankrupting themselves by getting big eyes when it comes to growth, and then dueling each other…With solar panel prices down 20%-25% in the last few months, and the cost of financing rising for some developers, we'll likely see more solar companies go out of business in the next two years. Whether or not that leads to a more sustainable industry or not -- only time will tell…” click here for more

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