Q-Cells AG, has just raised its 2006 forecast after posting a 153-percent rise in first-half earnings.

The company, which is the 2nd largest solar cell market in the world after Sharp, also said it would increase its production capacity to a 432 megawatts peak by the end of 2007 after the completion of the first two expansion stages of a production line. At the moment, production is at 280 megawatts, so this is a big increase.

Germany's solar boom is clearly continuing - like all booms - much longer than anticipated. If there are clouds on the horizon, I'd identifiy these two threats;

i) A change of government (i.e. a working majority for Chacellor Merkel) which cuts back solar subsidies, specifically the feed-in tariff
ii) The rise of China as the lowest-cost solar cell producer

My guesstimate is that these will both start to bed in by 2010. It's not a complete exaggeration to say that other than machine tools, the rest of industry is still clearing out of Germany. Yet Q-Cells AG has a plant in Thalheim.