SEIA nervous that solar could be left out of energy bill

The U.S. government could cast a long shadow over the solar power industry...sorry, I know that was terrible but I couldn't resist.

But seriously, the industry's lobbying group the Solar Energy Industries Association, is worried that it might not be invited to the big dance. Its website has a huge yellow alert flashing for people to contact their congress person and demand that sun-power gets included in the upcoming renewable energy bill.

Quick, pick up a phone and dial - our environment and energy independence are depending on it (when did the phrase energy independence enter into the public forum and why is it being used so much?).

Anyway, is the lobby more concerned about America's energy freedom, or about the bottom line of the companies they represent, hum?

Well, apparently they do care about America. According to Yahoo Finance, the warning put out by the lobbying group helped to cast a fog (sorry) over the solar sector Monday, causing many companies such as JA Solar, Yingli Green Energy, and First Solar to all fall nearly 10% each. Talk about foot in the mouth.

Despite the fears of the SEIA, analyst Jonathan Hoopes of ThinkEquity Partners, believes that - with oil as high as it is - Congress will include solar power into the new energy bill.

But even if solar is ditched, I don't think it will hurt the sector that much. The U.S. only accounts for 10 percent of the solar panel market (thanks again Yahoo) and I don't think that U.S. demand will drop even if there are no government incentives.

That got me thinking about why U.S. demand was only 10 percent of the market? We love to consume energy, and we have plenty of sun - um Death Valley, New Mexico, all of Nevada... Figured that with our huge energy appetite, our sunny open wastelands, and our tech know-how, we would be pretty good market, not to mention major producers, of polysilicon wafers - that's what they call shiny black stuff that traps the sun.

Many of the producers, however, are based in China, while Europe creates a ton of demand. Guess they set it all up down in sunny southern Spain. Que interesante, no?