SPI 2010 - Solar Power International is Off to a Great Start

SPI 2010 (Solar Power International) opened yesterday at the LA Convention Center. So far it's getting good reviews and lots of news and announcements are being made at the show.

In the Opening General Session yesterday, Rhone Resch, President an CEO of the Solar Energy Industries Association noted many of the milestones of late: permitting of large-scale solar on federal lands, solar on the White House, a Chinese manufacturer (Suntech) builds a new manufacturing plant in the US and so on. But he took it a few steps further. “I am also happy to report that solar energy is now the fastest growing energy source in the United States. During a recession. With 10% unemployment. Solar is rocking!”

There are nearly 30,000 attendees at this year’s SPI and the number of exhibitors jumped from 925 last year to 1100 at SPI 2010. The LA Convention Centre is so big (@77600 square metres) thatSchneider Electric gave the press pedometers to track their footsteps. And, yes, while it is a US focused show, it is by no means US only. Visitors are said to have come from 90 countries, and the exhibitor list is equally diverse. We applaud the show organizers for a job well done.

Click on the link to get a rundown of the first day written by Anne Fischer of Solar Novus.

Lots of good stuff so stay tuned and I'll pass on relevant things to you.

You can read more at my blog Buy Solar Powered Lights.

Thanks for reading,

Jill Olsen

SPI 2010: SEIA/GTM Research Report Shows Strong Solar Market, Growing Stronger

Direct from SPI (Solar Power International) SEIA/GTM released the inaugural US Solar Market Insight report with data for the first half of 2010 showing significant growth in the US solar industry despite the continuing struggles of the overall economy.

California led states for solar electric capacity installed in the first six months of 2010 with 120MW, followed by New Jersey, Arizona and Florida.

The solar heating and cooling market also grew. 

Our US Solar Market Insight reports will give solar companies invaluable data that will help this industry achieve its goal of installing enough solar to power two million homes every year by 2015," said Rhone Resch, SEIA president and CEO. "Detailed, regular updates are critical for a young but growing industry such as solar. For the first time, companies will have access to reliable data to plan for stable growth, cost reductions, and opportunities in new markets. Solar businesses armed with this data will have a distinct competitive edge in this increasingly competitive industry."

The US Solar Market Insight Brief Report and Full Report for 2nd quarter 2010 are available to purchase here. Third quarter data will be available in December 2010.

You can download the free executive summary of the quarterly SEIA^®/GTM Research U.S. Solar Market Insight™ here.

Read more about Solar Powered Lights at my blog.

Thanks for reading,

Jill Olsen