Massachusetts-based solar panel developer Konarka Technologies Inc. has filed for bankruptcy. The company received $1.5 million in grants from the state while Mitt Romney was governor. President Obama’s reelection campaign is casting this development as “Romney’s Solyndra,” even as Romney’s campaign continues to attack the president for his role in the Solyndra scandal.
Konarka and Solyndra are two high profile U.S. solar firms that have filed for bankruptcy or otherwise collapsed since 2011, but there are a number of others: Evergreen, SpectraWatt, Energy Conversion Devices Inc. Meanwhile, other firms, such as First Solar, have forecast weak market demand for 2012, as European nations reduce solar incentives and the price of solar panels falls. In 2011 US production of solar modules and polysilicon (a material used in photovoltaic manufacture) remained flat compared to 2010 levels, while production actually shrunk for wafers and cells.
However, at the same time, solar power’s contribution to the country’s electric supply has grown, with a 109% increase in solar PV installations, according to a report from the Solar Energy Industry Association.
What is status of the US solar industry? What is the relationship between government support and the success of the solar industry generally, and firms specifically? Is the high profile closure of US solar manufacturers indicative of how US solar is faring?
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