Recession Rains on Solar Industry

[Jon Katz]

The once-promising solar-panel industry has taken a hit recently because of the poor economy, according to a recent New York Times blog post by reporter Kate Galbraith.

She noted that:

"California-based OptiSolar is laying off close to half of its workers at what it had hoped would become a huge solar-panel plant near Sacramento."

Evergreen Solar and HelioVolt are also cutting jobs.

The cuts come at a time when President-elect Barack Obama is pushing for green jobs to help save the economy.

But if people and businesses can't afford to buy energy-saving technologies, will Obama's plan still work?

It might since Obama has proposed tax breaks and incentives for green energy producers, which could lower their costs and make their products more affordable.

However, as noted in a Boston Globe article published in November:

"The oil price decline and the economic crisis could also cause venture capital investment in renewable power and green technology to falter."