The solar bulls were on parade this week, due in no small part to the annual Solar Power International Expo out in Los Angeles. I didn't make it to the show, as I was busy covering the Value Investing Congress here in New York, but plenty of positive commentary certainly made its way to my computer screen.
Fool colleague Travis Hoium already hit upon one of the biggest reveals from the SPI show: a film from 3M
3M, which I spotted entering the solar market earlier this year, is one of the most innovative industrial engineering firms in the world, and I have a great deal of confidence in its efforts here. Other industry titans speaking about expanding in solar this week were DuPont
We've watched DuPont tackle the solar space with its encapsulants, pastes, and other materials. The company is now talking about entering the building-integrated photovoltaics market, which would pit it against rival Dow Chemical
GE, with a pair of thin film module offerings, calls solar "the next big phase" in its renewable energy push. I think GE's leading position in the domestic wind turbine market foreshadows how big of a presence this behemoth will have in the solar industry within a few years.
This entry by GE could cause discomfort for leading thin film player First Solar
LDK Solar