High Oil Prices May Cause a Rise in the Solar Industry

           High oil prices are leaving questions of whether mergers and acquisitions should be occurring in the solar energy industry. On Thursday, Standard & Poors had released the results of a study examining trends in global announced mergers and acquisitions activity targeting producers and manufacturers in the solar industry.

Findings that Standard & Poors had released on the study

             Based on Standard & Poors' analysis, there lies a meaningful relationship between high prices and solar mergers and acquisitions' activity. The synopsis, which Standard & Poors had developed: "From 2004-2008, the annual value of solar M&A activity steadily rose each year, with deal activity reaching $3.1 billion in 2008 (oil prices peaked in July 2008). The global recession, which came soon after, drove down energy demand and oil prices, leading solar M&A (mergers and acquisitions) to decrease to $2.9 billion in 2009."