There is such a glut in solar panels, the Financial Times reported that people in Germany and the Netherlands are using them as cheap garden fencing, even though the angle is not good for catching the sun. Though given that there is also a glut of solar power at lunchtime this is probably a "good" thing.

Great time for the Australian Government to spend a billion dollars setting up a giant solar panel production industry, eh?

With exquisite timing the Australian Labor government has just announced a Solar Sunshot for Our Regions. It our Prime Ministers ambition for us to be a "Renewable Energy Superpower" twenty years too late. One third of homes in Australia already have solar panels, but only 1% were made here. The NSW State government will also lob $275 million to support the embryonic industry and workers, most of whom will presumably be doorknocking to give away the panels with lamingtons. After we finish building garden fences, we might be using them to build sheds and cubby houses.

The big solar rush is over…

The global frenzy to install solar panels has suddenly flattened out last year when it was supposed to be launching for orbit. The IEA estimated the world now has about 800 GW of solar panel plants. But demand for solar panels this year is only expected to be 402GW. The glut is so bad, the whole global solar panel industry could take half the year off to play golf and no one would notice.

In the media, everyone is saying "China has flooded the market", but for some reason, no one wants to mention that the demand curve has suddenly slowed. The CCP has bet big on renewables sales and was probably expecting that rapidly rising curve to take off. Instead as interest rate rises clamped down on "luxury" spending people ditched their plans to install solar PV.