Is the Sun Setting on Solar Energy? | Solar Feeds

A wave of solar-energy companies are scrambling to adjust to the lingering credit crisis in capital markets. While investors and analysts are still bullish on the sector’s long term prospects, the next year or two could see a major shake up in the crowded solar energy space.

The looming threat of global warming and soaring energy prices have attracted vast amounts of capital into clean energy companies in the past few years. In 2007, the sector attracted $2.2 billion in venture-backed investments, up 45% from 2006. Biofuels production jumped from 4.9 billion gallons in 2006 to roughly 6.5 billion gallons last year. Meanwhile, in 2007, the United States added 314 megawatts of new solar energy systems to the grid, up by 125% from the previous year.