The solar industry, and sustainable life technology has been on the up-rise and continues to become a more leading part of the daily lives, and business practices worldwide. Solar industry hiring and growth has begun an exponential, and more jobs will continue to be added into 2010 and beyond.
Some fascinating new research into the growth of this sustainable technology industry has revealed that solar industries have added a cumulative amount of 17,000 jobs to the US economy in 2009. The solar capacity of the various installations has also risen an astounding 37%! Analysts predict the industry will grow to 60,000 jobs by the last quarter of 2010.
A financially expansive industry
In the past ten years, the industry has experienced incredible and far reaching growth- thanks to a public thoroughly fed up by dirty, fossil fuel energy production. Angel investors and others have contributed to the massive growth – over 1.4 billion in new venture capital investments!
The prices for PV modules dropped to 3.50-4.00 per watt, to just $2.25 per watt – a drop of 40%, just prior to the recession. Average solar capacity fell to about 10% from 2008-2009.
Residential installations now have more capacity
In 2009, only 441 MW worth of solar electric capacity was available for those in the residential sector, adopting the technology. Currently, installed solar capacity has increased to 2,108 MW, a fivefold increase. This has also increased the need for qualified electricians and tech profesionals to cater for these new installations.
The world is changing, with more and more sustainable technologies becoming prevalent in all industries and facets of life. Solar industry proves again and again, that it’s a mainstay of the technology industries. As the cost of installation continues a steady decline, along with the added benefit of being clean energy – the solar industry is a strong contender in the global energy markets, with an optimistic future.
Want more stats? Check out SolarBuzz.com for some in depth stats about the solar industry.


