Figures out late last week show that for the first time in 2004, Germany outproduced Japan in solar panels, making it the no. 1 producer in the world.

Overall, Japan still has the most solar power, at over 1.13 Gigawatts compared to Germany's 0.79 gigawatts. So why is Germany growing so fast, 140% in 1 year?

A recent law has made it viable to start producing large scale solar plants in Germany, of 10s or even hundreds of kilowatts, many times larger than a conventional home setup. But beware of German politics. September's National Election offer a real chance that the ruling Green / SPD government under Schroeder will lose and the opposition are talking openly about reducing renewable subsidies.

That's why Germany's many listed solar companies like Solarworld AG, Conergy AG, Solar-Fabrik AG and others would prefer a Schroeder victory.