2 http://www.sacbee.com/2011/09/29/3948958/suntech-selected-by-cupertino.html

3 http://am.suntech-power.com/

4 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suntech_Power

Because they don’t have politicians sucking on the cocks of big oil.

Thanks.

Any manufacturing is going to need control of inventory, process control, and procurement of materials at best prices.

Large solar facilities will need to track the output of each panel and each inverter individually, or at least track groups of them, so that if something breaks, the company can go and fix it. They can also notice a slight percentage drop in output, possibly indicating that the panels need to be cleaned.

Selling the electricity is a financial transaction. The kind of bidding and selling that Enron did still goes on, but is more regulated now. As such, it’s the similar to a stock market, and lots of IT is needed.

But because of increasing popularity, it is expected to become doubly as effective and cost A LOT less (if not half as much). But there are huge government rebates right now that will lower the price and I don’t know how long it will be until the technology advances come around.

My construction friend is suggesting that buying a solar panel today would be like buying a flat screen television when it first came out. They cost over $5,000 when they first came out. Now you could buy an ever better set than the one you bought only a few years ago for less than $1,000.

Does anybody out there have any inside information on the future of solar energy technology?

I don’t have any inside information, but that is the way technology works. Solar panels are not very efficient at this point and are quite taxing on the environment with their production. If you figure 5% interest, Just the interest will cost you $1500 pr year. That leaves $2100 per year to pay off the initial investment. It will take almost 15 years to pay off the investment. I don’t think they are cost effective at this time.

it’s a list from the ministry of economics and technology

any suggestions on where i could find these facts? aside from google…

A good solar hot water panel system is able to provide an average household with around a … useful information from Wikipedia on solar hot water panels.

There are three ways to educate one’s self: 1) go to school and following the instructions given by the teacher/professor 2) get a job in the industry and learn through a combination of the on-the-job instruction provided and personal experience 3) seek your own information. In the very real world in general, and in particular those career/job areas that are more technically oriented, the people who perform best and have the best longevity do all three on a continual basis.

Back to your very real problem of learning more about solar energy…The principles of solar energy, how the technology works, and how the technology generates electricity or powers things up are all based in physics. Of course, calculus was developed/invented/written to mathematically describe physics. And, in the past couple of hundred years, on a increasing rate, it is being discovered that many things in the physical world (the world of physics) are related to the chemical world (the world of chemistry); the converse is also true although, the division lines between physics and chemistry have not blended as well as the lines between psychology and sociology. Being able to communicate is also critical so, a little drafting and English/writing are probably called for. Depending upon what you want to do in the world of solar energy, you may even want some engineering which is ok because, physics, chemistry, calculus, being able to draw a bit, being able to write a memo, and draft a report are all things that are important in engineering too.

Solar energy, renewable energy, alternative energy, and even traditional energy all rest on the same, very fundamental concepts. Even if your search is more based in actual installation concepts, having a fundamental understanding of electricity will serve you well; how many times have vehicle mechanics struggled over the wiring in of a sound system or trailer lights because they lack an understanding of electricity, how to read a wiring diagram, or how to use electricity measurement equipment? If your search is more along the lines of being able to decide how many solar panels are required and/or at what angle then you will need both the skills and the language of mathematics. But, if as you indicate above, your interest lies more in honestly understanding the renewable energy technologies – These are all specialized applications of the basic principles and learning a bit about the basic principles are critical to understanding the specialized applications. You can think of it as being somewhat like learning how to drive different types of vehicles. The rules of the road are pretty much the same regardless of what vehicle you drive; all have some sort of steering, acceleration, and braking system that are operated pretty much similarly; as you start to divide yourself into automatic versus manual transmissions things start to change a bit although on many automatic cars you can "shift on the gas pedal" pedal; and so on. True, an automatic golf cart seems hardly similar to some of the older split axel semi’s but, there are still a number of similarities as they take off from a stop.

Check in to your local CC and/or Voc Tech to find out if there is a program in the pipeline. Also, discuss what your goals are and find out what they are able to provide you in terms of valuable background education, information, and certificates/degrees. If possible, try to get to talk to an actual instructor, program director, or department head; physics and/or engineering are good candidates. Mean while, turn to your local library, the school library if you are able, and the internet to read, read, and read all you can about solar and other alternative energies.