Low-cost imports from China fuel boom in solar panels

British homeowners are increasingly able to build greener homes by using cheap solar panels from China, but western workers are paying the price with a wave of corporate collapses and layoffs among green energy firms.

<p>The <b>price of PV</b> (photo voltaic) <b>solar panels</b> has dropped by as much as a third this year alone, hastening the introduction of a low-carbon economy and reducing the time period when <b>renewable energy</b> needs public subsidy.<br />And there is a boom at present as consumers try to install the low-cost equipment before the level of handouts via the government feed-in tariff (FIT) is reassessed in April next year.</p><p>"Prices (of solar panels) are falling so fast that some buyers are holding off making purchases on the expectation they will come down even more. We have seen an average fall of around 33% so far this year and I would expect to see a further 15% decline in the last quarter," says <b>Gabriel Wondrausch</b>, founder of Exeter-based PV installer, Solar Gift Solar.</p><p>Source: <a href="http://www.eceee.org/news/news_2011/2011-10-03a">European Council for an Energy Efficient Economy</a> </p><p><br /></p>