Made from the world’s excessive dependency on oil for energy— largely thanks to their huge oil exports, the gulf nations today have arguably some of the highest GDP on the planet. But with a green wave spreading across the planets and nations calling for a cut in relying on oil for energy, the Gulf countries are now worried about the implications of the eco-friendly movement in their economies. And they … should.

Gulf Nighttime - The dunes, the ocean and oil rigs

As more and more people are turning away from gasoline, conventional power and crude oil products and head towards solar, wind and hydrogen fuel cells, the economies of the Middle East nations could take a hit of around 5 to 20 percent. Some say, even more!

At an OPEC energy conference, Mohammad al-Sabban of the Saudi Ministry of petroleum expressed his growing concerns in this regard and said that if the trend continued, then the nations of the Gulf had a huge share of international wealth to lose out on. And already, nations like Saudi Arabia are thinking of tapping into the solar industry to avert future ‘disasters’.

Is it time to understand that relying on oil is not going last forever? Those wells WILL eventualy dry. And it could be pretty soon …

Original image by chriscpk214

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 Not all is good news in the solar industry, and researchers are not helping …

Indian solar cell manufacturers were hanging out at the 18th International Photovoltaic Science and Engineering Conference & Exhibition. Yeah, they really do have conventions for this kind of thing. This one took place from Jan 19 to 23, 2009, in Kolkata, India.

India’s solar cell manufacturers all have plans to enhance production capacity, BUT, many of them are postponing their plans because of the ongoing global financial crisis.

Titan Energy Systems Ltd, is based in Hyderabad-based. The company makes solar modules. Plans to increase its annual production capacity from current 100MW to 500MW by the end of 2009 may have to be put on hold for about six months says the company.

Jupiter Solar Power Ltd, is a solar cell manufacturer that was established in 2007. The company originally planned to start manufacturing photovoltaic cells last year in November 2008. That date was postponed until February 2009 because of the financial crisis. Additionally, Jupiter Solar Power is delaying its production increase scheduled for 2010, until 2011.

Business is good for those in the solar industry … not so good for those trying to get in.

Business is bad? Where is business bad? Not in the solar cell industry is business bad.

During the 3Q of this year, Japan’s fiscal 2Q shipments of solar cells to the European Union grew 44% on the year in power capacity terms. It now reaches 304,500kW says the Japan Photovoltaic Energy Association.

Europe accounted for 60% of all shipments. Exports to the Old Country rose 53% from the same period last year. These shipments are the main engine for overall growth.

The market for solar cells is firm despite the global financial crisis. Hmm … anybody looking for a job?

Nobody knows whether shipments can keep up the pace. We could lay a bunch of economists end to end but they still wouldn’t be able to reach a conclusion.

Best business decision these days – think GREEN! – via Nikkei (sub req)

Image courtesy of Zruda

A new survey by two Californian college researchers proved that companies in the solar power business will need more and more workers.

The attractive domain of turning the sun light into energy is very active in California where 16,500 to 17,500 people are employed to work for such companies. The study estimated 5,000 more jobs next year and most of these will be in the Bay Area.

Though there are open jobs for designers and salespeople, the biggest increase will be for people to install rooftop solar arrays. The technology is advanced enough, this being the reason why there will be a migration from lab jobs to field jobs. “You don’t need a Ph.D. or a B.A. to get into this industry. It’s an opportunity to rebuild the working-class jobs that have been lost,” said John Carrese, co-author of the survey.

Salaries for this kind of jobs will probably start from $31,200 a year for an entry-level installer, up to $83,000 a year for an experienced solar designer or engineer and the best candidates will be students from Californian colleges, said Carrese.

This may be the next boom in the economy, because it’s not rocket science to start such a business and you don’t need a Ph. D or a B.A., just intuition.