Before investing in a large solar farm, you may wanna learn whether the site benefits of enough insolation.
In Europe, Germany is the leading country for the use of solar panels, even though according to this solar radiation map (see above), it's not particularly a sunny country. But the Germans are making the best of of everything, aren't they?
Spain, Portugal, Italy, Greece, Turkey are by far the best counties for solar investments in Europe.
Eastern Europe with Romania, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Serbia have an interesting potential as well. Cheap labor force and cheap properties are strong positive factors to consider when investing in this part of the world.
According to Wikipedia, if the the dark area dots on the map above were filled with PV panels, they'd produce enough energy for the entire world. This fact alone says enough about the huge solar potential.
Trina Solar: Enough sunlight reaches the Earth’s surface every 15 minutes to meet the world’s energy demand for an entire year.
Basically, we're currently under-utilizing this free energy resource.
Where to invest? That is the question.
Solar radiation is just one factor taken into account when investors think about building a solar farm. Government incentives and solar grants seem the be the most important factor nowadays. It's free money so that's pretty appealing, right?
This is why cloudy countries like Belgium and Germany are into such a rush with this industry. Sometimes, political will and a solid country-wide energy strategy are enough. Forget about sunshine - where there's free cash and less red tape, things start moving.
We might see a paradox in the following years: sunny countries like Greece or Spain (who are into deep financial problems; high unemployment and such) could actually have a low output in terms of solar energy due to the simple fact that they're not building as many solar sites as the Germans. But that's just the current state (2012).
Hence, the opportunity: If you're looking to invest in solar, go to these distressed countries where sunlight is abundant and prices are low.
You'll save money by employing affordable labor at the initial phase of investment and you'll produce more energy in the long run.
So, have you decided to install solar panels on your roof or land plot? If so, whereabouts?
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