THIN FILM SOLAR PANELS

Archive for February, 2012

GE Sees More Casualties in Wind and Solar

(Reuters) – General Electric Co. expects increased competition and a reduction in subsidies by cash-strapped governments to lead to more companies exiting the wind and solar power businesses, but the industrial behemoth still sees growing long-term demand.

“There’s going to be a lot of casualties in the wind and solar businesses, there already are in solar,” John Krenicki, who leads GE’s energy division, told Reuters in an interview on Monday.

The U.S. may see an uptick in orders in 2012, prompted by the expiry of government incentives at the end of the year. However, the outlook for government support in the U.S. and Europe, in part do to economic woes, was not positive.

“I don’t expect a 100 percent withdrawal of credits but I expect change, so maybe less,” he added.

Nonetheless, GE expects the long-term demand for wind equipment to continue growing, especially as technological improvements made even the most economically challenging parts of the industry less reliant on legislated support.

GE Energy manufactures thin film solar panels and systems and is one of the biggest players in the wind turbine manufacturing business.