MORE SOLAR PARITY

Cost of Going Solar Is Dropping Fast, State Study Finds; The price of solar energy systems dropped by 36 percent in North Carolina between 2006 and 2011, in a trend that is likely occuring across the U.S.
Maria Gallucci, March 9, 2012 (Inside Climate News)

"The cost of solar power in North Carolina is falling steeply…providing the first real evidence of a trend that is likely occurring in other states that are harnessing the power of the sun…The price of solar photovoltaic (PV) systems dropped by 36 percent in North Carolina between 2006 and 2011, from $8.50 to $5.44 per watt…[while] fossil fuel costs jumped three percent on average in the state every year of the past decade…

"The Feb. 29 report by the North Carolina Sustainable Energy Association (NCSEA) is the first attempt to calculate both ‘dollars per watt’ and the ‘levelized cost of energy,’ or LCOE, for solar energy in a single state. The dollars-per-watt metric, used above, measures initial installation and hardware costs only. [The national average for solar was $6.20 per watt in 2010, according to the most recent available data]…"

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"The LCOE is a more complex and newer metric that assesses all costs of a solar system across its lifetime, including the cost of generating electricity and other factors like maintenance. It can be compared easily to other electricity sources…Using the LCOE, the report finds that solar will be cost competitive with retail electricity prices in North Carolina by 2020, without federal or state subsidies. Large-scale solar systems are already cost competitive when subsidies are factored in.

"The biggest factor in North Carolina's falling solar prices is global market forces…particularly the glut in solar panels and their components, like polysilicon…Between 2008 and 2010, the cost of solar panels worldwide fell by about 40 percent, according to industry figures. In 2011, prices dropped again by 50 percent from 2010, as the supply of panels far outstripped demand, due in a large part to a state-subsidized solar manufacturing boom in China…The findings in North Carolina give solar advocates a solid basis to draw conclusions about the entire industry…"