El Phoenix Sun

Lieberose Solar Farm, Germany

When German officials ceremoniously placed the 560,000th solar panel onto its frame at the Lieberose solar power plant on August 20, the crowd applauded for several reasons. The most obvious reason to celebrate was the fact that by adding that single panel, the 53 MW Lieberose had become the second largest solar power plant in the world (the largest is a 60 MW plant in Olmedilla, Spain ).

But it was also a happy moment for First Solar, the Tempe, Arizona-based manufacturer of the thin-film PV panels. The global economic slowdown has hit the solar industry hard. Even in this business environment, First Solar and it’s partner in the venture, Juwi Holding, AG, managed to keep the project on track. The solar facility should begin generating electricity later this year, when all 700,000 panels are in place.

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Fifteen thousand solar devotees from around the world are expected to meet in San Francisco this week in an event that organizers hope will “create strong global relationships.”

Actually, the sun worshippers will be fully-clothed (many in suits, no doubt). These movers and shakers, metaphorically speaking, will be attending the continent’s largest business-to-business solar trade conference and exhibition, called Intersolar, from July 14-16 at the Moscone Center.

Intersolar has been holding similar gatherings in Germany for eight years, helping businesses from across the solar supply chain meet, network and cut deals. The first North American Intersolar event was organized last year, as interest in clean and renewable energy sources in the US was beginning to grow.

With the Obama administration pumping billions of stimulus dollars into energy sources like solar, Intersolar organizers have expanded the North American trade show. Five hundred suppliers from over two dozen countries are setting up exhibits covering 120,000 square feet, three times the size of last year’s exhibition.

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Each year, the trade organization, Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), publishes a Year in Review report, (pdf) filled with facts and figures, and enough eye-candy to make all that data go down smo-o-o-o-th.

Check out the “State Round-Up” for solar gains in your state. If you live in the US, that is. More specifically, if you live in California, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, Missouri or Ohio.

If you live in any other state (Arizona, to pick one at random), you can breeze by this section.

Or do what I did: read it and see what other states have done that yours could be doing if your legislature didn’t already have its hands full protecting marriage or cracking down on whatever currently needs to be cracked down upon.

Then take in the international news.

We're number 3! We're number 3!

The US roared ahead of Japan in new solar generating capacity in 2008. That puts us within striking distance of Germany and Spain! But don’t count out Italy and France just yet; they’re ranked just below Japan. (Note: No, you haven’t wandered into the soccer standings. We’re still talking solar.)

With 342 MW of solar coming on-line in 2008, the US dominates Japan which only managed to squeak out 235 new MW. That victory pushes our existing capacity to a whopping 1,547 MW, just 30% behind Japan’s cumulative capacity. And 50% behind Spain’s.

And then, at the top, there’s Germany, which is, annoyingly, just running up the score. That explains why Germany’s solar capacity is three-and-a-half times larger than ours. They’re show offs. The amount of solar power Germany added in 2008 alone is nearly identical to our total capacity in the USA.

Coincidence? Right, and the Apollo 11 “moon landing” was real. Snap!

If you were thinking of crediting Germany’s superior weather for their solar advantage (as folks in North Dakota might do, perhaps), the map below begs to differ.

I know it isn’t legible at this size, but here’s all you really need to know. The colored bar near the bottom of the map shows the amount of sunlight that typically falls in an area. Read from left to right, the bar color-codes place with very little sunlight (deep purple) to help-help-my-eyeballs-are-on-fire bright (red). Notice that in the lower forty-eight states, the “coolest” color is a small blotch in the Pacific Northwest. Now look at Germany. The brightest part of Deutschland is roughly equivalent to the darkest part of the US.

(If you want a larger copy of the map, the SEIA annual review has a link to download a very large pdf version of the map.)

But, I’m focusing too much on the negative. Think positive! Pretend you’re German and be happy that your government (and Japan’s) had the foresight to buy up America’s solar technology at fire-sale prices when the Reagan Administration decided that solar power was for plants, not people, and closed the world’s leading solar research center back in the 1980s. But that’s another story.

Joking aside, I do recommend downloading and reading the SEIA report. It’s an invaluable snapshot of solar policies, advances and items that should be at the top of our national energy “To Do” list.