Government handouts appear to be doing the trick, raising the quantity of installed solar power units in America and reducing the cost to join the green revolution. This is according to a document published recently by the Lawrence Berkeley National Lab.
It clearly displays that following three years of stable pricing, solar costs fell by 3.6 percent in 2007 to 2008 and this indicated a turning point for the solar sector in the US.
Evaluating this in real 2008 dollars, it was calculated that the real price of placing a photovoltaic solar unit, without tax incentives or credits of any kind, was $10.08 per watt ten years prior in 1998 as compared to $7.50 per watt in 2008. Any preliminary cost for installation fell dramatically when tax credits/incentives were calculated into the equation.
Installing an average solar package would cost $2.80 per watt for a homeowner photovoltaic system, when you included tax credits and government incentives. The price went up to $4.00 per watt for a commercial unit installation.
The rising price of fuel from 1998 was a factor as were government credits for renewable energy usage, contributed to the solar industry upswing. Since 2007, the solar industry has enjoyed an increase in photovoltaic unit installations across America. It is thought that of the 566 megawatts of solar power that has gone to the grid since 1998, two hundred and ninety three megawatts have been supplied in 2008, an exceptional increase. The surge in solar power of late has been credited to the increased government investment incentives and credits that were put in place for commercial installations in 2006.
Some may think the 566 megawatt tally is on the low side with the declarations being made by both private and public interest groups in the recent past. It should be understood that these numbers reflect solely the grid connected solar units.
The data appraised the expenditures of fifty two thousand commercial and homeowner solar installations, which accounted for seventy one percent of the entire grid, tied photovoltaic solar units installed in America within the years 1998 and 2009. The information left out any expenditure for those homeowner or commercial solar units that worked off the grid.
Nevertheless, the details did contain information concerning outside data that compared the two markets.
It was apparent that the increasing attractiveness of solar power of late is not simply an American experience. There was a total of five thousand nine hundred forty eight megawatts of photovoltaic solar units built worldwide in 2008 as opposed to two thousand eight hundred twenty six megawatts in use in 2007.
European usage was vast with Spain and Germany coming in at number one and two respectively, then followed by the United States in third spot. This figure of total international solar installations will undoubtedly expand over the next few years. India has announced their intention to concentrate on increased renewable energy development, in large part solar installations to rural communities. They also plan government incentives for commercial installations and to lure private investors.
Asia continues to develop green energy supplies with China declaring large installations of photovoltaic power such as two thousand five hundred megawatts in Mongolia, and numerous US States have proposals for solar farms and concentrated solar power facilities.
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