With large-scale solar outfits and individual panels going up all over the country, it’s undeniable that the U.S. solar market is widening its reach. So what’s in store for 2011? Lower prices and a demand that’s nearly double what it was last year.
Over the past two years, solar product manufacturers have been forced to compete with similar companies in China and Taiwan that are slashing prices to increase sales.
This in turn has led to a greater availability of those products, which were at one time only practical for people with a sizable budget.
How much is the price drop, exactly? Right now wholesale solar panel prices sit at $1.50 per watt, a figure that is expected to fall at least another 20% by the end of 2011.
Couple this with government incentives and a push for more renewable energy sources all over the country, and the U.S. solar market is booming.
Large scale-installations, for instance, can earn solar developers a tax credit of 30% of the total cost of installation.
Last year alone, the demand for solar energy doubled to 1,000 megawatts—a number expected to increase to 2,000 megawatts by the end of this year. Time to check your own home’s solar potential?
1 comment
If you can find reasonably well made panels at $1.50/W, I’ll buy them all… I’m not seeing that kind of price, even for 100MW purchases. Real pricing is between $1.60/W and $1.85/W for monocrystalline, depending on brand and volume. I hope to see that price, but it doesn’t look like it will happen in the next few months.
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