15 June 2011
By 2050 3000 Gigawatts of installed capacity of Solar Photovoltaic power will be there. IEEE experts gave the opinion.
http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/solar-photovoltaics-gaining-momentum-and-poised-to-challenge-fossil-fuels-say-ieee-solar-experts-123904389.html
2012
September 2012
Japan's Sun Subsidy firing investment in Solar - $640 billion by 2030.
http://www.renewable-energy-news.co.uk/renewable-energy-news/japan-sun-subsidy-fires-electric-spending-rush-reuters-uk/
Acton, Massachusetts, USA residents offered Solar power at price below traditional energy prices
http://acton.patch.com/articles/acton-locks-in-solar-energy-prices-lower-than-traditional-energy-sources
Two German solar energy developers, Wuerth Solar GmbH & Co. and Gehrlicher Solar AG are planning to build photovoltaic plants in southern Spain that will earn a return without government subsidies.
Wuerth Solar GmbH & Co. intends to build a 287-megawatt plant in the Murcia area for 277 million euros ($363 million). Gehrlicher Solar AG plans to develop a 250-megawatt solar park in the Extremadura region for about 250 million euros.
(Source:
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-04-11/german-developers-plan-solar-parks-in-spain-without-subsidies.html 11 April 2012)
Solar panel costs have tumbled by 80% in the last five years making Solar energy cost effective for residences and businesses.
Cheaper solar power
Fotowatio, Spanish solar power supply company, expects its next plant near Caceres, a city in southwest Spain, to sell solar power at about 16 U.S. cents (12 euro cents) a kilowatt-hour, compared with the 21 cents utility Iberdrola SA gets in a regulated rate that's loaded with charges for transmission, clean-energy and coal subsidies, and a nuclear moratorium.
Annual installations of solar power are now about 28 gigawatts.
According to Managing Director, Giuseppe Artizzu, Cautha SRL, a Milan-based developer, is planning to build the first solar plant that can earn a profit without subsidies in Sicily this year (2012), aided by the island's wholesale price of 13.5 cents a kilowatt-hour.
In India, many factories and homes use diesel generators working at 35 cents a kilowatt-hour. There is good scope for solar power units in India.
India has 30 gigawatts of mainly diesel generators that could be replaced with cheaper solar power tomorrow, according to Tarun Kapoor, joint-secretary at the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy.
Experience effect
Solar power cost falls by 20 percent on average every time global installed capacity doubles, according to Vasilis Fthenakis, founder of Columbia University's Center for Life Cycle Analysis.
(Sources:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2012/03/21/bloomberg_articlesM0GN7K1A1I4H01-M1738.DTL)
Fthenakis predicted in 2008 that solar radiation could supply 69 percent of U.S. power by 2050 and 90 percent of all energy by 2100
Solar Energy - Country News
China
China is rapidly emerging as a solar PV cells producer. In 2000, Chinese production of photovoltaic cells was only 3 megawatts. By the end of 2007, it reached 1088 megawatts, and ranks first in the world. In December 2005, Suntech Power Co., Ltd., the first one to manufacture PV cells was listed in New York Stock Exchange. In less than two years, there have been more than 10 Chinese enterprises in the PV market at home and abroad.
(
http://newbattery.blogbus.com/logs/32700733.html)
Israel
Solar can provide 90% of the energy need provided storage solution is available to store energy produced during day time and to supply it at the night.
USA
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) selected 13 Solar America Cities in June 2007 and an additional 12 cities in March 2008 to help lay the foundation for a solar energy market that can serve as a model for cities around the nation.
July 2008.
“ Tucson Electric Power has been named one of the nation’s top 10 “most solar integrated utililties” in a report released by the Solar Electric Power Association .”
Solar Energy - Individual Company News
30.5.2011
Mark M. Little, Global Research Director for General Electric supported the statements by many that solar power may become cheaper than electricity generated by fossil fuels and nuclear reactors within three to five years. He stated a target of 15 cents a kilowatthour or lower as the rate that will result in adoption of solar energy in homes. Presently the US 2009 average rate ranges from 6.1 cents in Wyoming to 18.1 cents in Conneticut.
General Electric developed thin film solar panels with 12.8% efficiency. GE intends to start a manufacturing facility for these high efficiency panels in 2013.
HyperSolar announced a technology that can increase photo voltaic cell efficiency by 300%.
While currently there is 16 gigawatts of installed energy, 1800 gigawatts will be installed in next 20 years. This sector will be a big job generator.
General Electric developed thin film solar panels with 12.8% efficiency. GE intends to start a manufacturing facility for these high efficiency panels in 2013.
HyperSolar announced a technology that can increase photo voltaic cell efficiency by 300%.
While currently there is 16 gigawatts of installed energy, 1800 gigawatts will be installed in next 20 years. This sector will be a big job generator.
Mitsubishi Electric intends to accelerate its capital investment plan by one year, and invest a total of 50 billion yen to quadruple its annual PV production capacity from 150 megawatts (present) to 600 megawatts by fiscal 2012 (April 1, 2011-March 31, 2012).
Solar Water Heaters [2]
In the 1890s solar water heaters were being used all over the United States. In 1897, 30 percent of the homes in Pasadena, just east of Los Angeles, were equipped with solar water heaters. As mechanical improvements were made, solar systems were used in Arizona, Florida and many other sunny parts of the United States.By 1920, ten of thousands of solar water heaters had been sold. But discovery large amounts oil and gas resources made solar water heater an inconvenient mode.
Now, solar water heaters are making a comeback. There are more than half a million of them in California. They heat water for use inside homes and businesses. They also heat swimming pools
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References
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For Additional Reading
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Published Market Research Reports
Original Knol - http://knol.google.com/k/narayana-rao/solar-energy-commercial-production/ 2utb2lsm2k7a/ 857
