A new report from Dow Jones and the solar manufacturing sector indicates that consolidation, or mergers, is likely to be the next wave for solar.Phil Schneider of Deloitte Consulting agrees, and notes that for foreign investment in U.S. solar to occur, a whole platform of incentives needs to be present, not the least of which are government tax incentives. But reliability, and serviceability, remain a huge part of the equation.Lawmakers, already struggling to balance energy independence and the availability of oil, recognize the inevitability of market consolidation if America’s solar manufacturing industry is to achieve any kind of worldwide presence, let alone domination.

Let’s face it, at this point, U.S. solar is not a cost-effective solution for foreign firms. Land and labor are both too expensive, and even U.S. firms are struggling with solar impediments like efficiency, reliability, deployment speed and transmission availability Solarlight.
The way to make solar effective in a world market may be to consolidate small solar and solar startups so that, in the very near future, solar manufacturers can offer the sort of workmanship, life-span guarantees, and service solutions to solar installations that are currently enjoyed by the traditional energy industry.
In other words, notes Michael Liebreich of New Energy Finance, if a company like NRG buys 100 megawatts of solar energy, it needs the certitude that system failures will be addressed by an experienced maintenance crew in a timely and affordable fashion under a contract maintained and operated by the same company for the lifespan of the solar farm. Currently, Liebreich notes, only a few solar cell manufacturers are at that point, and only a few more will reach it in the next several years.