Where are the Gaps in the Solar Marketplace?

October 20th, 2009 by Zachary Shahan

92% of people think we need to develop and use solar power, but less than 1% of US power is from solar. Where are the gaps?

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I can identify three main ones, but they seem to be getting addressed more and more by a wide variety of parties — public, private and non-governmental. So, what is left?

Recently, a study by Kelton Research showed that most people think solar is the most important energy source the government should fund and most think they will get solar within the next five years. Nonetheless, only about 3% of those respondents had solar power and less than 1% of the power in the entire US is from solar.

Why the huge gap? And who is trying to fill it?

Major factors seem to be: 1) cost, 2) lack of information, and 3) just the effort it takes to switch from one power source to another.

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Tags: market demand, society, solar market, solar technology

About the Author

Zachary Shahan spends most of his time here on CleanTechnica as the director/chief editor. Otherwise, he's probably enthusiastically fulfilling his duties as the director/editor of Solar Love, EV Obsession, Planetsave, or Bikocity. Zach is recognized globally as a solar energy, electric car, and wind energy expert. If you would like him to speak at a related conference or event, connect with him via social media. You can connect with Zach on any popular social networking site you like. Links to all of his main social media profiles are on ZacharyShahan.com.

http://pvinsights.com pvinsights

The most important factor is the cost of solar component cost. Silicon manufacturing cost should be $20 to $25/Kg. The cell technology will have more room to improve conversion efficiency for reducing cost. When the cell technolgy become more mature, solar component cost can reach grid parity to conventional electricity. According to PVinsights, http://www.pvinsights.com , solar panel price is still around $1.9 to $2.1 and still have some difference from conventional electricity.
http://pvinsights.com pvinsights

The most important factor is the cost of solar component cost. Silicon manufacturing cost should be $20 to $25/Kg. The cell technology will have more room to improve conversion efficiency for reducing cost. When the cell technolgy become more mature, solar component cost can reach grid parity to conventional electricity. According to PVinsights, http://www.pvinsights.com , solar panel price is still around $1.9 to $2.1 and still have some difference from conventional electricity.