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Feeling the heat
Nobuo Tanaka, executive director of the International Energy Agency, says it is "inevitable" that the manufacturing of renewable energy components - mainly solar modules and wind turbines - will move to China and, to a lesser extent, India. "The PV cells made there are not of as high a quality yet [as those made in Europe] but they will get there."
This view is echoed by George Frampton, former chairman of the White House Council on Environmental Quality and a member of the Obama campaign's transition team. He says: "There is a very strong momentum. And it's not just because of the cost, it's also that I'm not that optimistic that this market is going to boom in the US."
June 2, 2009
by Fiona Harvey, Chris Bryant, and Kathrin Hille
in Financial Times
Workers at the Q-Cells solar panel plant at Thalheim, in Germany's "Solar Valley", are slowly adjusting to their new shorter working week. Until recently, the plant struggled to meet the vast demand for panels stirred up by Germany's generous subsidy system. Now the production lines are quieter and there are many empty bays in the car park.
"If you go into the technology or administration departments they'll tell you it's nice having an extra day off per week. The staff have been working flat out for years," says Stefan Dietrich, the company spokesman. But other employees are less pleased. "Production workers... [continue via Web link]
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