In a previous post on the California R/C solar market I identified 5 factors needed to continue the growth in solar installations. Topping the list was “continuation of federal and state incentives which drive down the cost of installs significantly (California incentives will grow to around $600 million per year in California by 2015, this is real money)” .
Yesterday Energy Conversion’s CEO [ENER] reported that “a dramatic and abrupt shift in the French and Italian solar incentive structures has impacted our business” and that the changes “may impact as much as 50% of this quarter’s forecasted revenue”. On Friday ENER promptly lost 21.5% of its market value.
Policy makers don’t have a lot of choices on how to make a dent in fossil fuel consumption and solar is certainly part of the picture. But policy makers also face financial pressures that make renewable policies vunerable due to their costs vis-a-vis doing nothing. In this case investors stand to be the losers in the balancing act.
Disclosure: the author has no position in ENER.