There is a bright side to the plunge in solar panel prices that
has brought down some U.S. and German manufacturers which relied
too heavily on subsidies for green energy - solar power costs
have fallen faster than anyone thought possible. Solar is now
nearly as cheap as conventional sources in Germany's electricity
grid. The falls in prices for photovoltaic components, pushed
down by economies of scale and fierce competition from China,
have made solar nearly as cheap as conventional sources in
Germany's electricity grid. The boom in Germany, the world's
biggest photovoltaic market with 24,000 megawatts of installed
capacity, has also helped to drive down costs worldwide, making
solar a more viable and accessible alternative to fossil fuels
in places ranging from India and the Middle East to Africa and
North America. The unexpectedly rapid drop in global solar
prices has nevertheless hit some equipment makers hard -
producers like Solyndra in the United States and Solon in
Germany that failed to keep pace an