Will solar power cost less than grid power soon?
This year might finally be it! 2008 will most-likely see the price of solar energy become cheaper than the price for the grid power we've become accustomed to all of these generations. It's a two-fold reason. First, the price of solar components are plummeting as demand increases the supply, plus the price of grid-system electric is skyrocketing.This of course will cause a snowball effect as more people will take advantage of these lower prices. The cost of solar components are set to drop by next year from about $3.80 per watt to about $1.40 a watt. Germany, which is the biggest market for solar energy with nearly half of world demand, will single-handedly cut subsidies by 7 percent next year.
"There's a double-whammy coming of subsidy cuts and supply pressures," said Tim Arcuri, an analyst at Citigroup. The solar power business is bracing itself for a shake-out as the price plummet begins.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
6-03-2008 @ 1:58PM
Brian said...
I can't speak to solar prices because I haven't found a way to make it a viable alternative where I live in Texas. However, we use a 100% renewable electric provider (mostly wind, some hydro). Earlier this year our price dropped by nearly 2/3 of a cent per kilowatt hour.
It's still a bit more expensive than the traditional, coal-fired providers, but the gap is getting smaller.
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6-06-2008 @ 1:03AM
Chris said...
I thinks solar is getting ready to take off in big way. I am seeing a lot more ads for from home solar power installers. My brother, who is a contractor, has been expressing interest in expanding into this. I agree the conjunction of dropping solar panel prices and rising fuel costs will propel solar forward. There also seems to be more than a few solar start-ups in nearby silicon valley.
Home solar power info and products at http://www.budgetsolarstore.com
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