The Intersolar Conference held in San Francisco was a dramatic demonstration of the Green Economic Revolution’s potential for delivering lower prices, a cleaner environment, economic development and jobs.
I worked the after-conference receptions to gain candid information on solar’s current pricing and future. I was blown away by how low solar prices have fallen. I can’t name names due to confidentialities but I heard concrete examples from solar power developers that utility scale PV panels are selling for around $1.75-$1.85 per watt. This is approximately 60-70% LESS than the price for panels just four years ago! Inverters are now priced around 40+ cents per watt. Completed solar power plants are coming on line at $3.50 to $4 per watt.
The spark behind this dramatic price drop is worldwide competition. The Intersolar Conference filled THREE huge conference floors within the Moscone Center with solar technology vendors including what appeared to be an entire floor of Chinese companies offering solar panel and solar hot water heating technologies. Also represented was an impressive array of manufacturers from Japan, Europe and the U.S. including a really cool technology developed by DEGERenergie, a German company that enables a solar panel to so effectively track the sun’s UV radiation that it increases a solar system’s output by 40+%.
But there is a dark cloud hanging over the bright future for solar and the smart grid. A common theme expressed in private conversations and public panel discussions was a view of utilities as the 800-pound gorilla standing in the way of progress.
Read the complete article at Triple Pundit