Last year, financing seized up and demand went off a cliff. Today, demand for solar modules, a unit of interconnected solar cells, is so high that most of the industry is sold out. Germany is leading the way, making up about 36% of market demand. France, Italy, the United States and Japan are seeing their own demand rising quickly, reports Jessica Rao for CNBC.

On the supply side, the shortage of polysilicon, the building block for solar panels, is a thing of the past. (Why solar ETFs will shift to a brighter future). A massive oversupply of the material is anticipated over the next three years, giving solar panels a dramatic drop in cost to produce, and therefore utilize. This could lead to greater adoption of solar energy on the consumer level. (Read about the green energy sector here).

For more stories about solar energy, visit our solar category. If you want the scoop on anything and everything energy-related, sign up for our newest special report.

• Market Vectors Solar Energy ETF (NYSEArca:KWT): down 5.4% year-to-date



• Claymore/MAC Global Solar Energy (NYSEArca: TAN): up 1.7% year-to-date

ETFs are a good way for investors to capitalize on policy initiatives of the Obama administration while reducing the day-to-day volatility compared to other investment options, such as stocks, remarks Daniel Harrison for IndexUniverse. (Play Obama’s new energy plan).

Health Care opportunities. Jim Oberweis, chief executive of Oberweis Asset Management, believes that “there is a possible positive [outcome] for pharmaceutical companies” since sales of prescription drugs will increase as health care coverage widens. Furthermore, Oberweis argues that health care providers may benefit from more patient visits and biotechs are in a more positive position than previously thought. (More on the health care sector).

Broad-based and niche market ETFs that could benefit from the growth in the number of patients receiving coverage include:

• Health Care Select Sector SPDR (NYSEArca: XLV): up 14.3% year-to-date
• iShares Dow Jones U.S. Healthcare (NYSEArca: IYH): up 15.1% year-to-date
• iShares Dow Jones U.S. Medical Devices (NYSEArca: IHI): up 32.4% year-to-date; IHI is well-diversified, with 58% of assets under management in its top 10 holdings, and a maximum single-stock weighting of 10%. Companies included should benefit from the increase in the number of hospital patient visits.
• PowerShares Dynamic Pharmaceuticals (NYSEArca: PJP): up 10.3% year-to-date; PJP is a well-diversified ETF on large, mostly dividend-paying pharmaceutical companies that have lots of cash on hand and may see an increase in sales of core prescription drugs.
• SPDR S&P Pharmaceuticals (NYSEArca: XPH): up 19.2% year-to-date; XPH is more broadly diversified.
• iShares Dow Jones US Pharmaceuticals (NYSEArca: IHE): up 22.2% year-to-date; IHE focuses more on the oversold traditional pharma brands like PJP.
• SPDR S&P Biotech (NYSEArca: XBI): down 4.3% year-to-date; XBI is well-diversified, with 45% of its funds invested in its top 10 holdings. The fund is also mostly invested in nontraditional pharma companies.
• iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology (NasdaqGM: IBB): up 11.2% year-to-date; IBB has a higher weighting in its top holdings and it focuses exclusively on Nasdaq-listed securities; some large biotech companies may be excluded.

Clean energy. It is no big secret that clean energy is a big policy initiative of the Obama administration. The more notable technologies being pushed into the forefront of the sector are nuclear and solar energy. Solar tech investing is still considered risky because of the industry’s mini boom/bust cycles, but ETFs help minimize volatility. (More on alternative energy).

• Market Vectors Solar Energy ETF (NYSEArca: KWT): down 6.5% year-to-date
• Claymore/MAC Global Solar Energy (NYSEArca: TAN): up 0.3% year-to-date
• Market Vectors Nuclear Energy ETF (NYSEArca: NLR): up 19.7% year-to-date

Max Chen contributed to this article.

All over the world, governments have set aside money for the green energy sector to help get their economies on course, writes Charlie Thomas for FTAdviser. The combined allotment for “green money” in global stimulus packages may be more than $500 billion.

Earmarked funds are being spent on climate change-related investments, such as improvements to railway, grids and water infrastructure.

• The European Recovery Plan involves investments in energy, including offshore wind and carbon capture and storage.
• The American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan will improve renewables, building efficiency, low-carbon vehicles, mass transit, grids and water.
• In December, a climate change meeting in Copenhagen will try and bring more countries, such as China and India, into the environmental accord. Energy efficiency and alternatives will also be addressed. Even if a global agreement on key issues is not met, individual countries will likely continue on with their own projects.

Green technology is becoming popular, but investors should be wary of a possible “green” bubble that could form as a result of hype. (Read how to protect yourself from bubbles). This sector is more of an emerging technologies sector, and investors should note the possible high volatility and risks involved. Find out how to follow trends here.

For more information on green energy, visit our alternative energy category. Among the many ETFs to choose from in this sector include:

• Market Vectors Global Alternative Energy (NYSEArca: GEX): up 7.8% year-to-date

• iShares S&P Global Clean Energy Index Fund (NYSEArca: ICLN): up 7.4% year-to-date

• Claymore/MAC Global Solar Energy (NYSEArca: TAN): up 12.7% year-to-date; FSLR is 10.8%

• iPath Global Carbon ETN (NYSEArca: GRN): down 5.1% year-to-date

• PowerShares Global Wind Energy (PWND): up 38.8% year-to-date

Max Chen contributed to this article.

Why?

• Solar energy is becoming cheaper and more efficient to make through advances in solar panel technology. The industry is developing a new thin-film panel technology that will soon replace the limited capacity produced from polysilicon panels. Panel efficiency is currently around 9%, but efficiency should reach 18% to 20% in a few more years, which will likely make solar panels the cheapest source of energy.

• Government subsidies are enticing more citizens to begin residential solar installations, writes David Fessler for Investment U.

• Retailers are also experimenting with solar panels to cut down costs by placing panels over large stores and warehouses. Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) is one such retailer experimenting with this, and if it goes as planned the store could become one of the largest U.S. power producers.

• China is still aiming to become one of the world’s solar leaders. First Solar Inc. (NasdaqGS: FSLR) and Ordos City agreed to build a 2-gigawatt solar installation in Inner Mongolia city, reports Patrick O’Grady for Sacramento Business Journal. The deal will start off as a 30-megawatt demonstration unit starting in June and additional phases will be online by 2014 and 2019.

Ordos officials have allotted 65 square kilometers of land for the project and they will be working in construction and financing with First Solar. The company will be operating the plant under China’s feed-in tariff, which guarantees prices paid for renewable energy.

• Market Vectors Solar Energy (NYSEArca: KWT): up 6.1% year-to-date; FSLR is 8.8%

• Claymore/MAC Global Solar Energy (NYSEArca: TAN): up 12.4% year-to-date; FSLR is 10.8%

For more information on solar power, visit our solar category.

Max Chen contributed to this article.

The cost to install solar panels as a source of energy has dropped nearly 40% over the last year, which has made them more popular among consumers.  The reason that these panels have fallen in price is twofold, states Kate Galbraith for The New York Times.

• The production of polisilicone, which is a major material used in these panels, has skyrocketed as more factories around the world are producing it and some of these factories are actually producing the panels themselves.
• Global demand for solar panels has slowed down.  In particular, demand in Europe, which is the second-largest market for solar panels, has slowed down and is expected to drop 26% compared to 2008.

These cheaper prices, in conjunction with generous federal credits and innovative ways to finance the trend toward solar panels may be beneficial for the industry in the long haul.

• Claymore/MAC Global Solar Energy Index ETF (TAN): down 7.2% year-to-date

• Market Vectors Solar Energy ETF (KWT): down 11.5% year-to-date

For more stories on solar energy, visit our solar energy category.

Kevin Grewal contributed to this article.

Why hasn’t renewable or sustainable energy been utilized in the United States as a mainstream source of power yet? Italy, Germany and Sweden and China are miles ahead of the U.S. in their quest for sustainable energy. Michelle Melio for The Examiner reports that the United States invented much of the modern solar technology, while the rest of the world (even developing countries) is creating much more power from it than we are.

However, there are a number of factors that favor the growth of solar and wind energy both in the United States and overseas, including:

• DuPont has invested $120 million in solar energy; they also anticipate that the photovoltaic market will grow rapidly over the next several years
• Solar panels are getting cheaper (however, sales have slowed because of tight credit markets)
• The energy and Treasury departments said they’d give $2.3 billion in tax credits to clean energy equipment makers, says Keith Bradsher for The New York Times
• Wind energy now supplies 2% of U.S. power and grew 60% in 2008, making the United States the world leader, according to a U.S. Department of Energy report
• Wind projects accounted for 42% of new electric capacity in 2008

There’s a growing number of alternative energy ETFs available. Among them:

• Claymore Global Solar Energy ETF (TAN): up 0.91% year-to-date

• First Trust ISE Global Wind Energy Index (FAN): up 24.7% year-to-date

• PowerShares NASDAQ OMX Clean Edge Global Wind Energy (PWND): up 36.8% year-to-date

For more stories about alternative energy, visit our alternative energy category.

When it comes to alternative energy, China has strategies that the United Sates could take a few cues from. Jeff Wolfe for CleanTechnica reports that China has signed 2 gigawatts (that’s 2000 megawatts) worth of projects with Suntech. For comparison’s sake, the total U.S. market is 350 megawatts.

China has not only become the hub to find the necessary products for solar production, they are also being sought after to supply the financing for installation in the United States. The  engine for job creation in the United States may well be Chinese bank project funding.

Meanwhile, California has set the bar for solar panel installations, with around 50,000 to date, an environmental research group said. California now has the capacity of more than 500 megawatts of solar power at peak periods in the early afternoon – the same as a major power plant, reports Felicity Barringer for The New York Times.

To continue this growth, certain cities are offering incentives and financing for rooftop solar panel installation and long-term statewide rebates are cropping up to encourage the use of these panels. The growth outlook is sunny, however, as solar energy accounts for one-quarter of 1% of the state’s total energy capacity.

For more stories about solar energy, visit our solar category.

And it’s not just here. The efforts span across borders, in developing nations such as China. R.M. Schneiderman for The NewYork Times reports that the jobs involved in cleantech, such as solar panel production and manufacturing, are local jobs that create work within the community. Keith Johnson for The Wall Street Journal reports that the Chinese government will boost subsidies for solar power in a bid to juice the development of about 500 megawatts of solar energy in the next two or three years.

The Chinese focus on renewable energy has focused on wind power, but the push has turned toward solar power. The digression of solar power development is dependent upon government support, so subsidy plans are in the making. As a result, solar ETFs are moving higher today.

On our own turf, alternative energy sources come from sunlight, wind, rain, tides and geothermal energy and produce energy. The U.S. government is strongly supporting the use of renewable energy through legislation and is hoping to eventually commercialize these power sources as mainstream energy for the public’s use, reports Ron DeLegge for ETF Guide.

Thus far, the main roadblocks to the plans are falling natural gas prices and empty credit markets, as the start-up and smaller companies need capital to move forward. The less expensive fossil fuels and oil becomes, the less interest there is in alternative energy power sources.

However, the job creation aspect of renewable power sources is great, but is it enough to support cleantech efforts? Although many of the tasks involved in production can be done by machine, the human labor is actually less expensive.

Just a few of the growing number of ETFs that focus on various aspects of renewable energy:

• PowerShares Wilderhill Clean Energy Portfolio Fund (PBW): up 14.5% year-to-date

• Claymore/MAC Global Solar Energy (TAN): up 4.2% year-to-date

• First Trust ISE Global Wind Energy (FAN): up 18.8% year-to-date

For more stories about alternative energy, visit our alternative energy category.

China is making a play to boost the solar energy sector, and it could draw more than $10 billion in private funding, report Leonora Walet and Rujun Shen for Reuters. Expectations that there will soon be cash incentives have solar ETFs trading higher today.

Although 27 states (and Washington, D.C.) have a renewable energy portfolio and mandates, the Federal government is still lacking one. The implementation of one has the potential to set the country on course with a specific goal. In addition, most proponents of renewable energy believe federal tax credits for renewable energy  need to be made permanent so companies have confidence concerning returns on investment in the future, reports Brian Coppa for The Examiner.

Many companies eyeing renewable energy projects are on a rush to grab public land, straining the Bureau of Land Management. The objective is to take advantage of state mandates that require utilities to obtain more power from renewable sources, along with subsidies from the Federal government, explains Stephen Power for The Wall Street Journal. It’s a balancing act that might have Obama looking for ways to keep the clean energy transition a smooth one without trampling the legacy of conservationists.

In the meantime, India has been working overtime to become a leader in solar power generation. Will they become the first hub of renewable energy to nations such as Germany, or the United States? Under the National Solar Mission, India would generate 100,000 megawatts of solar power by 2030 and 200,000 megawatts by mid-century under the plan, according to James Kantner for The New York Times.

• Market Vectors Solar Energy (KWT): up 7.8% year-to-date

• Claymore/MAC Global Solar Energy (TAN): up 13.7% year-to-date

For more stories on solar energy, visit our solar category.

• Clean Energy ETFs: Why Investors Are Pouring In
• Why Solar ETFs Are On a Path to Growth
• 5 Natural Resource ETFs and ETNs You May Not Know About
• How Climate Change May Affect Water Industry and ETFs
• Why Wind Energy and Green ETFs Are Catching On