Solar: technological success, economic disaster?

Today, the solar industry finds itself in a paradoxical situation. In a recent article in the New York Times, Paul Krugman, winner of the 2008 Nobel Prize in Economics, calls for massive investment in the solar industry. He deplores the fact that the bankruptcy of Solyndra, a 1,100-employee solar panel manufacturer, has served to discredit both public investment and solar energy. France finds itself in a similar situation, since, as our figures show, the momentum of investment in the solar sector came to a virtual halt in 2011. Photowatt's recent filing for bankruptcy is bad news for the industry, and this slowdown is partly linked to the decline in public subsidies for the sector, at least in France. In the 70s, France was a pioneer in solar thermal research, with the Odeilho solar furnace for example. Krugman points out, however, that the industry has made considerable progress in terms of productivity. He draws a parallel with the semiconductor industry: solar panel prices have been steadily falling, just as electronic chips have been steadily increasing in power under Moore's Law.If this trend were to be confirmed, we would have to hope that the current sluggishness of solar investment in France does not mean that the country is withdrawing from a sector with a promising future.