©2011 RegenEn Solar LLC ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

The solar energy industry experienced unprecedented growth in the eight years from 2000 to 2007, with explosive growth occurring in the latter half of this period. From 2004 to 2007, total investment in the U.S. solar industry increased at a 145% compound annual growth rate, expanding from $215 million to almost $3.2 billion (National Renewable Energy Laboratory, US Dept. of Energy).

In 2006, the U.S. solar industry had total revenues of $15.6 billion and that is projected to dramatically increase to $69.3 billion in 2016. This level of growth is more akin to the PC, wireless, and Web industries during their heyday (PCs experienced more than two decades of 28.5 percent compounded annual growth) than the usually staid and slow-moving energy sector. And clean energy is attracting the interest and commitment of many of the same innovators and investors who created the info-tech revolution that

Solar Industry

preceded it. Take solar photovoltaics (PV). Some of the largest manufacturers in the sector read like a Who’s Who of consumer electronics: Kyocera, Mitsubishi, Sanyo, Sharp, and others. Internet visionaries such as Google founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page are investing in clean-energy projects and initiatives. In 2006, Google began installing the largest announced rooftop solar PV system in the U.S.: 1.6 MW when completed in 2007 (CleanEdge Clean Energy Trends 2007 Report).