Bundesverband Solarwirtschaft, the German solar industry association, estimated an astonishing 1.1 GW of new capacity in the country during 2007, which brings the total figure to almost 4 GW.
This news comes to confirm Germany as the largest market in the world, despite big progress in other countries such as Spain, where 428 MW where installed during 2007 (with an increase of 440% from the earlier year).
The German solar industry currently consists of around 10,000 companies, employing an impressive 40,000 people. Most firms are dedicated to set up, installation and maintenance of solar plants. However, there are also some 80 German companies that manufacturer solar equipment. Indeed, as many as 788 megawatts of solar PV cells were manufactured in the country last year, and the figure is growing fast.
For additional information:
www.solarwirtschaft.de
