Solar energy companies experience differing fortunes

Firms in the solar energy industry have faced highs and lows over the past week

The solar industry has had a mixed week as overall business trends seem to remain positive, though some firms still suffered at the hands of the current economic crisis.

The US Bureau of Land Management (BLM) last week reported a 78 per cent spike in the number of land-use applications received from solar projects interested in setting up shop in the millions of desert acres in the western USA.

Almost 225 applications were submitted in western states alone, compared with 125 in 2007. Most of the projects in question aim to build large scale solar power plants capable of generating 10 MW or more.

California led the way with 107 applications, while Nevada saw 71 applications filed and Arizona 35.

In further evidence that the long term outlook for the sector remains positive, earlier this week solar company SolFocus, which has pioneered a new technology using concentrating optics to improve energy yield, raised $47.5m in capital from a funding round, taking it closer to its $150m total funding target.

Meanwhile, industry giant Suntech Power Holdings announced that it has reached one gigawatt (GW) of solar photovoltaic (PV) cell and module production capacity in Wuxi, China where it recently opened a new headquarters.

But it was not all good news for the industry as California-based Optistar announced it was to lay off half of its workers – some 290 people – as a result of falling demand. And last week, Canada's Day4 Energy announced layoffs for one-third of its staff, as it began to outsource production to Poland.