The Cost of Solar Panels
Photo by Gili Soffer
The cost of solar panels per watt is a little pricey these days at $3.66 per watt. However, it is being said that this price will drop to $2.14 per watt by 2010. The thin film PV is also going to be dropping from $2.96 down to $1.81. These figures are great due to the fact that it should entice more people to install solar panels in their homes and businesses to save on electricity.
The current global production will also be rising from the current 3.14 Gigawatts to just about a 400 percent increase of 12.36 Gigawatts. The demand for solar panels is looking to go up to 6.76 Gigawatts from 2.94 Gigawatts, which will leave 5 Gigawatts unused, and because of the unused portion it is speculated that the price of solar panels may even go down lower.
The supply of silicon production is so low right now and this is why the prices are going to be dropping. An abundance of silicon is going to be made, of 125,302 tons, an amount that is quadrupled of what is made today. This is going to leave a huge over supply of the product which will drive down the prices. It is expected to take place by 2012. Those companies that do not use silicon but thin film to make solar panels will not be affected by the over supply of silicon being made but they do still have to compete with the prices dropping for solar panels, so they will in turn have to lower their prices also.
It is believed that when the supply in silicon is expanded, thousands upon thousands of people will be employed and the government may offer people incentives to use solar panels in their homes and businesses to help close the gap in Gigawatts usage in regards to them. It is possible too however, that the government will not do this and the companies will have to figure out how to cover their expenses, even without all the Gigawatts being used, on their own.
AVA Solar Inc. is planning on starting production on new solar panels that was developed by a mechanical engineer at Colorado State University, Professor W.S. Sampath, who has been working on getting this technology right for the past 16 years. These new panels will provide 200 megawatts of power which can power up to 40,000 homes in the United States.
With the prices dropping and the new solar panels being able to power so many homes, the industry is very encouraged of the panels being installed by more and more people, which in turn will provide cleaner energy being used to power their homes and businesses.
By the year 2010, the solar panel industry is expected to be a multi-billion dollar industry bringing in about $25 billion. It is currently bringing in about $6 billion, but with the rise for the past 5 years of 40 percent per year, the industry is only going to continue to grow, thus becoming more profitable.
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