Quick growth of solar industry can lure entrepreneurs astray

By Marco Mangelsdorf

POSTED: 01:30 a.m. HST, May 15, 2012

~~<p>An unquestioned principle of the capitalist system in which we live, breathe and consume is that growth is not only good but a necessary imperative. Grow or die.</p>
<p>Make more so that you can buy more and maybe, if you're disciplined and wise, put away more. And if you're in business, sell more so you can grow more so you can sell more and so forth. And if you are in the business of selling solar electric, or photovoltaic, systems to Hawaii residents, as I've been doing since 2000, the past several years have seen an explosion in the number of projects sold across the state. What used to be something of a small-scale, boutique contracting business up until a few years ago has become something akin to the California Gold Rush of the mid-1800s, with as many as 200 firms going after their stake in the Hawaii PV gold fields. On Oahu alone in 2012, more than 70 firms obtained PV permits for more than 1,000 residential and commercial projects.</p>
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An unquestioned principle of the capitalist system in which we live, breathe and consume is that growth is not only good but a necessary imperative. Grow or die.

Make more so that you can buy more and maybe, if you're disciplined and wise, put away more. And if you're in business, sell more so you can grow more so you can sell more and so forth. And if you are in the business of selling solar electric, or photovoltaic, systems to Hawaii residents, as I've been doing since 2000, the past several years have seen an explosion in the number of projects sold across the state. What used to be something of a small-scale, boutique contracting business up until a few years ago has become something akin to the California Gold Rush of the mid-1800s, with as many as 200 firms going after their stake in the Hawaii PV gold fields. On Oahu alone in 2012, more than 70 firms obtained PV permits for more than 1,000 residential and commercial projects. Login for more...