Thursday, February 26th, 2015

New Study Shows Solar Energy Soon To Be Cheapest Option

Author: Joshua S Hill
Source: CleanTechnica
Publication Date: February 26th, 2015
Link: New Study Shows Solar Energy Soon To Be Cheapest Option

Stephan: This is fantastic news. It means that the transition out of carbon is going to go quickly. The dangerous part is going to be the death throes of the carbon industries. Some will survive but very diminished. Look at what has happened with Kodak, Polaroid, really the whole film industry. Look at what happened to the sailing industry that had constituted one of the premier profit centers of the world for thousands of years.

Credit: Thomson/Reuters

Solar power is set to become the cheapest power source in many parts of the world by 2025, according to a new study by the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems commissioned by Agora Energiewende.

The independent think-tank of 18 experts conclude that by 2025 the cost of producing power in central and southern Europe will have declined to between 4 and 6 cents per kilowatt hour, and by 2050 to as low as 2 to 4 cents.

The study is based entirely on “conservative assumptions” about the future of solar development, excluding any potential breakthroughs that could theoretically make solar even more effective. But we’ve already seen the cost of solar drop dramatically over the past, and such is expected to continue.

“The study shows that solar energy has become cheaper much more quickly than most experts had predicted and will continue to do so,” says Dr. Patrick Graichen, Director of the Agora Energiewende.

“Plans […]

Read the Full Article