Solar Panels Get Cheaper

Solar Panels Get Cheaper, But Is the Trend To Last? - Solar Panel Materials like Silicon from First Solar are on the Wane - Popular Mechanics:

A solar power milestone was reached on Tuesday when First Solar Inc brought its manufacturing costs for solar panels down to $1 per watt. But a study from the University of California and Lawrence Berkeley National Labs suggests that this might be the bottom for a price-point—if solar power is ever going to scale up to become competitive with other forms of energy. Here are the new challenges facing the solar industry and some suggestions to make a brighter future.



First Solar's eventual goal is "grid parity," a phrase that refers to making solar power cost the same as competing conventional power sources without subsidies. Right now the cost of making panels accounts for a little less than half the total cost of installation. The company estimates that it needs to get manufacturing costs down to $0.65 to $0.70 per watt, and other installation costs down to $1 a watt in order to reach grid parity—goals First Solar plans to reach by 2012.