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Browne is clear on his position. He expects to be the market leader in solar photovoltaics soon, and the competition has no illusions about what that will mean. Says Siemens' product marketing manager Clay Aldrich: "Their combined capacity could threaten our position, but based on our expansion plans, I don't think it will." Kyocera is also cranking up capacity. But Forest claims the merger can be good for the long-term health of the solar industry as a whole, helping to "sort out and stabilize" the market through "exercising some leadership"--something Browne intends to do. He may be a new kind of solar champion, but BP Amoco's combined market share means that it will not have to develop the business as aggressively as originally thought necessary to achieve Browne's sales goal. That circumstance, taken together with persistently low oil prices, could leave solar in the slow lane despite being rejuvenated by the latest oil revolution.END