The Reason For The Fall In Price Of Solar Panels

The average selling price for solar pv modules is 1 50 and will likely fall to 1 by 2013 there s some debate in the sector about how long companies will beable to push costs for silicon based technologies downward.

The reason for the fall in price of solar panels.

Back in 1977 the price of solar photovoltaic cells was 77 for just one watt of power. The cost of building new solar projects is now almost the same as the cost of operating coal fired power plants that are already up and running at an average of 35 mwh. 2010 increased demand leaps in technology and tax incentives keep driving prices down. 2006 the combination of a recession and a silicon shortage force prices to stabilize for a few years.

It was a windfall for solar power generators and investors in solar farms as prices for panels as measured in cost per watt they generate dropped by 25 to 30. As the clean electricity source surges in popularity it s seen a reduction in prices. And r d is only part of the equation. Analysts predict that prices could fall below 0 20 per watt by 2040.

For about the last decade however the largest single high level factor in the continuing cost decline has been economies of scale as solar cell and module manufacturing plants have become ever larger. Solar panels will continue to decline in price in the 2020s the sun is set to shine on solar energy. Wood mackenzie forecasts that spot prices for modules could fall from 0 30 per watt dc to 0 18 per watt dc in the next five years a 40 percent drop. This represents a massive 9x drop in the price of solar panels since 2006.

Tariffs on imported solar products and the rising cost of finding customers slowed the price decline and flattened growth leaving installers policymakers and utilities asking if the price will. 2008 an extension to the itc prompts another round of interest in solar and increased demand begins leading pricing decline. Today it s around 0 13 per watt or about 600 times less.