Professor Donald MacRae, who co-ordinates the PMI for Bank of Scotland, suggests Scottish manufacturing may be benefiting from modernising in the pre-recession era to a more lean profile, helping explain why things look better for now.

BBC: Banking on the future

From there on the solar manufacturing world began to crumble and, along the way, we saw the demise of high-profile U.S. startups such as Solyndra and Abound Solar and the bankruptcies of long-time players such as Q-Cells in Germany.

FORBES: Growth Pace Slows For The Global Solar Market