The contraction was principally caused by the collapse of Spain’s unsustainably generous solar feed-in tariff in late 2008, though it was “severely aggravated” by the global economic crisis and a lingering tightness woven through the credit markets, says market researcher DisplaySearch.
Demand for solar cells hit a record-high 6 gigawatts (GW) in 2008 – more than double the 2007 level. Although overall production will once again increase in 2009, end demand will fall to 5.2GW,
