On 17-Jun-13 10:37 PM, Udhay Shankar N wrote: > More on the dropping cost of PV panels: > > http://www.economist.com/news/21566414-alternative-energy-will-no-longer-be-alternative-sunny-uplands > > Rebranding is always a tricky exercise, but for one field of technology > 2013 will be the year when its proponents need to bite the bullet and do > it. That field is alternative energy. The word “alternative”, with its > connotations of hand-wringing greenery and a need for taxpayer subsidy, > has to go. And in 2013 it will. “Renewable” power will start to be seen > as normal.
Some more data (the entire piece is worth viewing at the URL below dues to embedded graphics, but I will highlight 2 key parts): http://www.mckinsey.com/insights/energy_resources_materials/the_disruptive_potential_of_solar_power?cid=ResourceRev-eml-alt-mkq-mck-oth-1404 "The price US residential consumers pay to install rooftop solar PV (photovoltaic) systems has plummeted from nearly $7 per watt peak of best-in-class system capacity in 2008 to $4 or less in 2013.1 Most of this decline has been the result of steep reductions in upstream (or “hard”) costs, chiefly equipment. Module costs, for example, fell by nearly 30 percent a year between 2008 and 2013, while cumulative installations soared from 1.7 gigawatts in 2009 to an estimated 11 gigawatts by the end of 2013, according to GTM Research. While module costs should continue to fall, even bigger opportunities lurk in the downstream (or “soft”) costs associated with installation and service. Financing, customer acquisition, regulatory incentives, and approvals collectively represent about half the expense of installing residential systems in the United States. Our research suggests that as they become cheaper, the overall costs to consumers are poised to fall to $2.30 by 2015 and to $1.60 by 2020." ______________________________________________________________________ "Since the solar installation often puts money in the homeowner’s pocket from day one, it is a relationship that can generate goodwill. But, most important, since solar panels are long-lived assets, often with power-purchase agreements lasting 15 or 20 years, the relationship also should be enduring. That combination may make solar installers natural focal points for the provision of many products and services, from security systems to mortgages to data storage, thermostats, smoke detectors, energy-information services, and other in-home products. As a result, companies in a wide range of industries may benefit from innovative partnerships built on the deep customer relationships that solar players are likely to own. Tesla Motors already has a relationship with SolarCity, for example, to develop battery storage coupled with solar. It is easy to imagine future relationships between many other complementary players. These possibilities suggest a broader point: the solar story is no longer just about technology and regulation." -- ((Udhay Shankar N)) ((udhay @ pobox.com)) ((www.digeratus.com))
