Affordable solar panels to come
Solar power is often left out of the renewable energy equation because of its high cost. But as production catches up, the industry is bracing for a glut. Sam Eaton reports the price of solar panels may drop as much as 40 percent.
A worker staples a roll of photovoltaic solar panels on a roof. (Pascal Guyot/AFP/Getty Images)
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Renita Jablonski: Solar power is often left out of the renewable energy equation because of its high cost. A supply bottleneck for silicon has been driving prices up for a long time. But now as production catches up, the industry is bracing for a glut. As Sam Eaton reports from the Marketplace Sustainability Desk, that's good news for energy-conscious consumers.
Sam Eaton: On Tuesday, the world's largest manufacturer of silicon semiconductors will announce that it has doubled its capacity following a three-year, $1.5 billion expansion project. Announcements like these are forcing analysts to rethink their cost projections for solar power.
The Prometheus Institute for Sustainable Development predicts global silicon capacity will triple by the end of the decade, driving down the price of solar panels by as much as 40 percent.
Daniel Esty is a professor of environmental policy at Yale:
Daniel Esty: This is good news for all of us who might like to see cheaper solar panels. It's not so good news for the entrepreneurs and investors who are gonna see much more difficult circumstances for these companies and probably less likelihood of getting a big return on their investment.
Esty says unless demand surges, the glut in silicon production will cause a shakeout in an industry that has seen record growth in recent years. But he says the companies that survive are likely to thrive over the long term.
I'm Sam Eaton for Marketplace.
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From Willard, UT, 06/04/2008
Paraboloid solar concentrators yield more versatile energy related products than silicone cells. If mass produced, they can be lower cost than silicone cells. The energy from sunrise to sunset is nearly the same level all day except for cloud cover where not all is lost. Waste heat can distill water from sewage or grey water. This distilled water can easily be a geothermal collection media not bringing up unwanted minerals with the circulation. End products from the high concentration are free Hydrogen and free oxygen for internal combustion and fuel cell power generation. These being produced in millions of back yards takes care of the distribution problem. A family can go to work and shop on the energy products made today or the near past.
another waste heat end use is the chemical breakdown of land fill materials with natural catalysts yielding methane and ethane without burning them. These can be used to again manufacture new and pure plastics.
Water disassociation is more effective when done to hot water. Linear alternators and heat pumps pumping refrigerant are more efficient than their cycling cousins.
From Atlanta, GA, 06/03/2008
More affordable solar panels? That's the good news everyone wants to hear. The question is, how long will it take for the price reduction to get to the end user? By migrating to solar now, we save energy costs, reduce our carbon footprint, AND save the planet sooner.
From vineland, NJ, 06/02/2008
Silicon wafer based solar cell producer's may be having their hand forced by alternative means of Solar cell creation. Most companies that have excelled in the last single year, whether it be in the stock market, or in garnering venture capital have been doing so by using a thin-film deposition process commonly referred to as, CIGS. In some cases they are producing the same solar power capacity as traditional silicon wafer design, but at 1/3rd the cost.
Look at, in no particular order, solyndra, nanosolar, heliovolt, globalsolar, etc.
06/02/2008
Solar power is definitely becoming more affordable. Solar panel manufacturers are cutting costs and solar panel installers are also lowering their costs.
From seattle, WA, 06/02/2008
I have been told that REC is the worlds largest manufacturer of solar wafers and I believe their increased capacity is what is being refered to in the story (see http://www.recgroup.com/).
Let's hope the price of panels comes down.
But I believe the idea that there will be a glut in the near term is not likely to come to pass since, as I understand it, increased production has been in response to actual demand (especially from Germany).
06/02/2008
Wouldn't this glut/shakeout only be felt in the manufacturing end and not on the retail end? Who is the world's largest manufacturer of silicon semiconductors??
Thanks
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