The monthly review released today by solarbuzz.com shows solar prices have fallen a bit further over the last month. Prices fell more slowly than last month due to price stability in Europe, but made a step in the right direction. While this price remains significantly above that of coal, oil, and natural gas – it positions solar closer to achieving grid parity in the mid-2010s. In Europe, the price actually increased a euro cent to 4.62 per watt, potentially due to the strengthening of the US dollar. In the US, prices continued to creep toward their 2004 low by falling 3 cents (or .6%) to $4.81 per watt. When global solar electricity is priced by kWh, industrial users now see a price of 21.06 cents (~.3% below the rate last month).
The stability of solar prices remains impressive to me since fossil fuel prices have collapsed by more than 60%. This occurs thanks to many of today’s modules sales set up via long-term contracts. A number of solar manufacturers at the margins have reduced prices as much as 30%, so there are bargains to be had even if most prices are resilient.
Bottom line: The downward movement in prices is helping to increase the competitiveness of solar versus other energy sources. It is probably good for the industry that module prices are falling slowly, but price declines will need to accelerate in the years ahead if we are to achieve grid parity in sunny markets by the end of current subsidies in 2016.
Tags: Electricity, energy, price, solar power
the cost of Solar Cells for Solar Energy utilization has been decreasing over the past years. pretty soon, solar energy would be a more viable alternative than fossil fuels,-