May
31
How to Lease Solar Power
Filed Under solar cost | 2 Comments
If you're new here, you may want to clipped from www.fanboy.com
| Photovoltaic Moore’s Law Will Make Solar Competitive by 2015 |
| “In recent years, global PV production has been increasing at a rate of 50 percent per year, so that accumulated global capacity doubles about every 18 months. The PV Moore’s law states that with every doubling of capacity, PV costs come down by 20 percent. In 2004, installing PV cost about $7 per watt, compared to $1/W for wind, which at that time was beginning to stand on its own feet commercially, Last, year, as recently noted in this blog, average global solar costs had come down to between $4 and $5 per watt, right in line with the PV Moore’s law. Extrapolate those gains out six or seven years, and PV costs will be below $2/W, making photovolatics competitive with 2004 wind.” |
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May
26
Solar Investing is one of the interesting emerging markets. It ranges from buying stock in green energy producing companies, to funding research into new technologies, to trading Renewable Energy Credits.
The solar technology stock market is growing fast - estimated 20% growth yearly since 2005. This makes it an area where some investors are willing to take risks. Other experts are quick to point out that solar energy has been promising to overtake coal in $/kw for the last twenty years. Why should it be different now?
The proof lies in investors like Ausra, Google, Infinia, Solel and Florida Power and Light investing significant amounts into solar technology. These companies have been at the forefront of technology booms before, and now they’re betting millions that the solar technology has come of age.
Sites about solar investing:
May
24
What is the Cost of Solar Energy
Filed Under solar energy, solar panels | Leave a Comment
I think that’s probably the first question that comes into people’s minds when considering buying solar panels for their home.
How much will it cost? And will it save me more than it costs?
To know this, you will need to calculate the photovoltaic cost per kilowatt for a home.
Because the cost of photovoltaics, or any solar panel, is not just the initial cost. It’s calculated over its lifetime. It’s rather like buying a house. You could say ‘is this an expensive house?’
And the answer at the time could be yes, that’s quite pricey for the market. However, if in three years all the prices of houses around have gone up, that house at the same price from three years ago would be a bargain.
Similarly, solar energy prices are relative. As other energy prices change (like coal, gas or hydro-electric,) solar energy becomes relatively more or less expensive. So at the moment oil prices are rising. That makes solar electricity a bit cheaper compared with oil. However coal is still relatively less per watt than solar.
Recently, several companies have announced that they can produce solar electricity that is cheaper than coal at cents/watt. This is a large claim, and has yet to be produced in the market place….watch with interest.
So once you know how much electricity your solar panel produces each year you can then see the cost per kilowatt. Multiply the kilowatts per year by 25 (or whatever the warranty of the panel is.) Then divide by the price of the panel. This will give you how much it costs to produce one kilowatt of electricity with your solar panel.
That’s the attractive thing about solar energy - it is possible to ‘fix’ its price for many years. After all, it would be hard to charge for raw sunlight. So if you have installed your own solar panel, then you can know approximately how much energy is available each year.
So how do you know your solar panel output before you’ve installed a panel? That involves a bit more research, but it can be done.
As a starting point, you could try out our new solar calculator
This calculator takes into account the inflation of electricity prices, as well as the fact that solar panels add value to your house.