Solar power, as I’ve reported more times than I can count, has seen rapidly dropping costs in recent years. Also, with a lot of suppliers elbowing for a place in the market, prices have come down even more. A new report released by SBI Energy finds that solar power has the best return on investment (ROI) of any renewable energy option. (Reminds me of the 1BOG NJ solar power versus stock market ROI infographic below from 2010.)
The cost of solar power is projected to reach $1 per watt by 2020 and the payback time for a typical solar power installation has come down to 3-5 years (from 7-10 years not long ago).
The cost of solar power is projected to be cut in half from 2020 to 2030, as well, making it $0.5 per watt by then.
Now, does that mean one should wait to install a solar power system? I certainly wouldn’t say so. Current government incentives may be dropped in the future, and if you wait to go solar, you might also miss out on the money you could be making in just a few years time.
But this is a global report, and the best thing you can do to determine your best choice right now is look into the solar energy government rebates available to you, see if you have group discount options (UK option, if you live there) or other innovative solar buying options in your area, and figure out what you would pay and how long it would take you to get that money back (from your much lower electricity bills or even payments from your utility company to you).
“During 2011-2012, we expect a short-term lull in the European Union PV market, primarily due to FiT rate cuts and regulations on farm land usage for ground mount installations,” states Arun Kumar, SBI Energy analyst and author of the report. “But this will be offset by installations in the high growth markets of North America and Asia, and China in particular.”
The new solar power report — which covers the PV component market (including a detailed analysis of PV cells, modules, wafers, polysilicon and inverters), historical developments in PV inverter markets, as well as growth, size, volume of business, and general trends in technological developments in the market — is titled Global Solar Inverters Markets.
Image Credit: 1BOG
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