Plastics manufacturer Hanplast in Poland has now joined the solar panel manufacturing industry, by starting up a 100-megawatt panel production line built by Meyer Burger (OTC:MYRBY). “Any” industrial firm with manufacturing and sales expertise and access to capital could do the same.

This is not to diminish Hanplast’s entry into the solar industry. The firm started laying the groundwork in 2012, and has a joint venture with an EPC firm, a pipeline of solar customers, and a supplier relationship with Ikea that could become a marketing relationship.

As the Hanplast story makes clear, the advantages of incumbents such as First Solar (FSLR) and Jinko Solar (JKS) over new entrants are not insurmountable.

Good News and Bad

The good news for solar incumbents is that falling prices for solar panels are driving increased global sales. A recent Science magazine article stated that attaining a 29 percent compound annual growth rate in global installed solar would be “challenging yet feasible.” That would yield, by 2030, an installed base of solar about 35 times the current amount. (The article’s authors included industry experts and researchers from the U.S., Germany, and Japan.)

The bad news for solar incumbents is that the solar panel market is attracting new entrants, and thus increased competition.

Lots of Firms Could Make Solar Panels

Here’s how to enter the solar panel industry:

1. Build solar manufacturing lines
2. Make panels
3. Sell panels OR
4. Build solar farms, then either sell them, or own and operate them.

Access to capital is the main hurdle for step 1. Once a new entrant has capital, turnkey production lines are available from firms including Meyer Burger and Amtech Systems (ASYS). A joint venture partner can provide capital—for example, Shell just invested in solar developer Sunseap, based in Singapore.