Following years of progress, the solar energy industry is facing an impending wave of mergers. As the German Press Agency (dpa) reported, a great deal of consolidation can be expected in the solar industry in Germany. Among other things, substantial subsidies in the area of renewable energies produced numerous new suppliers in the past. Now the big chip corporations are also demonstrating interest in this booming sector. Impressive proof of the positive solar market development on the application side can be seen in Leipzig, among other places; the world's largest photovoltaic facility is being built there.

The consolidation is being driven by the expansion of production capacities, which will ensure price reductions for solar modules over the next years. There are currently more than 50 producers for photovoltaics in this area in Germany, including publically listed companies such as Q-Cells, Solarworld, ErSol, Conergy and Solon. The expansion fury of the industry is creating new factories valued at approximately one billion euros.

The investments are worth it. In Germany alone, sales for solar products should increase from currently 4.9 billion euros to 8 billion euros by 2012, according to estimates by the German Association of Solar Energy Business. The growth rates are even higher in Italy, Spain and the USA. According to industry insiders, companies have the biggest chances on the market that cover the complete value-added chain from chips to ready-to-use modules.

For this reason, big corporations are also interested in the solar energy industry. Siemens and General Electric (GE) are currently considered the top candidates for company acquisitions in this area, but chip giants such as Intel and Samsung are also looking into acquisition possibilities. The semi-conductor manufacturers profit in this growth market above all from their know-how in matters such as silicon, which is also the basic material for solar cells.

Photovoltaic systems are among the especially interesting - due to the large number of pieces - solar energy applications, which can be integrated into the energy supply infrastructure of whole cities or even economic areas. The first construction stage of the "world's largest photovoltaic system" was recently completed near Leipzig. Approximately 130 million euros are being invested there to generate 20 million kWh electricity using solar energy with about 550,000 thin-film modules on an area corresponding to 200 soccer fields starting in 2009.