The price of a barrel of Brent Crude oil from the North Sea has risen by 50 percent this year. That in turn raises the price of driving a car - and of manufacturing. So solar power is becoming relatively affordable.

German solar technology firms quintupled their sales abroad in the last three years, for an industry total of a billion euros in 2006. German photovoltaic companies have their eye on the European domestic market. But they are also rapidly expanding in the United States and Asia. The Solar Economy Association expects the photovoltaic market to expand by 20 percent a year for the next 15 years, creating many jobs in Germany. Klaus Enderle visited Solon, a photovoltaic company in Berlin that will be opening new production facilities next year. In Cooperation with the Handelsblatt.