Solar power bankruptcies loom as prices collapse

“Solyndra was just the beginning,” said Jessie Pichel, head of clean energy research at the investment bank Jefferies & Co. “We’re going to see a lot of companies go bankrupt.”

Just how many? Of the few hundred or so solar panel makers worldwide, just 20 to 40 are expected to remain standing in a few years time, said Mark Bachman, a renewables analyst at Avian Securities.

This isn’t necessarily a bad thing for solar power. Bachman noted that many young industries go through this phase — think of all the auto makers at the beginning of the last century or television makers 40 years ago. As the market matures, the stronger companies survive.

And there’s an upside to declining prices: It means more people are likely to go solar.