Abstract
Solar panel manufacturing, while comprising a small role in the energy sector, illustrates the government’s ability to foster growth in nascent industries as well as its limits in protecting these industries from international competition. Environmental concerns over climate change have forced governments worldwide to establish targets and provide incentives for generating electricity from renewable energy sources. While leading to the rapid development of a global market for solar panels, these policies induced volatility by promoting a surge in production and international competition. Consequently, the domestic solar panel manufacturing industry has experienced a tremendous boom and bust over the past decade.
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*Leah Goddard is a Client Relationship Manager at IBISWorld, an industry research firm providing business intelligence. She has authored a number of reports, with a particular focus on finance, insurance, and natural resources industries. She joined IBISWorld as an Analyst in 2013 upon graduation with a B.A. in international affairs and economics from George Washington University and was a Lead Analyst prior to taking her current position.
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Goddard, L. The Solar Panel Manufacturing Industry’s Boom, Bust, and Future. Bus Econ 50, 147–154 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1057/be.2015.25
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/be.2015.25