Beam me to Planet Gore !
Posted on 12/15/2010 9:16:39 AM PST by smokingfrog
The fight for lower costs in solar is a never-ending battle. Those who can lower costs will survive; those who can't are headed to the scrap heap. So every quarter we watch to see where costs are trending and who is moving into a better position in the industry. Where do we stand right now?
This quarter we saw costs actually rise for the first time since solar has grown into relevance. We knew costs couldn't fall forever but now we're starting to see who is squeezing a few extra pennies out of each panel. Not every company reports cost per watt but here are four of the major competitors who do:
Cost leader First Solar hit a bit of a wall in the third quarter, as did Solarfun. Falling silicon prices have helped Solarfun and Trina lower costs, but non-silicon costs are proving harder to cut for everyone.
And the cost cutting issues are industry wide. Yingli Green Energy reported non-silicon costs of $0.74 per watt, the same as in the second quarter of 2010.
Evergreen Solar is in the process of ramping up its Wuhan facility, which should accelerate cost reductions. Although the 3.1% decline may not look impressive for a high cost manufacturer this was done at its U.S. Devens facility so cost reductions should be more dramatic in China.
This quarter was most impressive for Trina Solar while other manufacturers struggled with costs. At $1.08 Trina is probably just a few quarters from breaking the $1 threshold joining First Solar in an exclusive club.
(Excerpt) Read more at msnbc.msn.com ...
Ping.
We need 250 nuclear power plants immediately. Nothing else will ever hold up into the next generation, or two...
I would so love to get off the power grid but the cost is unreal. I’d be looking at well over 20k in cost and that’s with rebates and the rest.
Solid oxide fuel cells may be your best bet.
“I would so love to get off the power grid but the cost is unreal.”
You’re like many of us who’d be willing to at least consider a renewable energy source for our homes, businesses, etc.
But even as the technology behind solar power advances, the cost doesn’t. As a result, most of us will say “Screw it. I’m staying on the power grid”.
For now, I am on the grid, emitting carbon, and I see nothing close to a viable alternative.
Okay so I bit and looked into this briefly. So lets say I get a 1kW unit for around $5k. Is that 1kW per day? How long does it last? Is there a site that breaks down SOFC’s for dummys like me?
The way I figure it, there's only one way that solar becomes economical: when grid power isn't an option. In other words, on land that's cheap because there's no grid access.
The solar boyz are missing a trick by not getting into the cheap-land (and modular-home) business on the retail end. If they can put together a land-home-solar package that's competitive (as a whole) with gridded land, they could expand their market.
All without further subsidies...gaw-lee.
My sister has been off the grid for some time. of course the house is in the hinterlands and bringing the grid in would be too expensive. Solar backed by generator, and the house is designed for minimal electric usage. Gas fridge, wood heat.
I bet you could produce electricity with a diesel generator for about half the price of you local utility for a fairly small investment. The nice thing is, if you install a switch, you can get back on the grid anytime you want.
What you're seeing is the "nameplate" rating, i.e., the maximum power output the solar panel is capable of. This has to be discounted for nighttime, cloudy days, low sun angle in morning and evening, etc. The average power is a lot less than the nameplate rating.
For more info on nameplate rating vs. actual output, see these web sites:
http://accesstoenergy.com/
http://energyadvocate.com/
Hope that helps.
Our cost is Zero not one penny, they pay all the costs.
Am I missing something here? WEPCO delivers power at around $0.14 per KILOWATT HOUR and these people are talking about breaking a $1.00 barrier for ONE WATT. It seems to me that they are off by four orders of magnitude! It also appears that the quoted cost is for the panel only and does not include the cost of inverters, controllers, DC breakers, or storage batteries. All necessary components if you want to have power available when the sun goes down.
IMHO solar power does have a place in the grand scheme of things. It is the only alternative to a plutonium powered thermopile for space satellites as long as we don't go past the asteroid belt. That is what drove solar development from the beginning since cost was no object for the space program .
Central station power generation provides cheap power because it is a "centralized" system which makes the most effective use of capital. If you tried to put a steam powered generating plant at each electric consumer the costs would undoubtedly rise several orders of magnitude. It is not the technology that drives the cost, it is it's application.
Regards,
GtG
Hence my post earlier. The problem is that ungridded people have superior option such as wood. Big furnace, chuck in some split wood, and you have all the heat you need.
I believe they are talking about the production cost per watt.
further reading
http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/02/24/first-solar-claims-1-a-watt-industry-milestone/
HOwever we are an "unusual" family. Cold wash water...OK...cut cord wood for heat...sure...Small entertainment devices instead of 60" TV's....you bet.
The downside is that if you are serious you are constantly thinking about it. Split wood on the hottest days of summer... nothing says holidays like the "aroma" of kerosene...solar and kero lighting...lots of blankets...family time playing games and talking instead of watching TV...radio, especially shortwave is great.
Then there's the dark and quiet at night, along with the cold in the winter and heat and humidity in the summer. If you are the right type of person it's paradise, if not it's hell.
FWIW wife and I are no in an apartment and we love it...but still miss the old days at times.
Actually, I was thinking of the Bloom Energy SOFC but after a little digging I don’t think they’ve come out with a residential unit yet although they promise one soon. According to their info they will be able to sell a 1KW generator fro about $3,000 but a 1 KW generator won’t be sufficient to make your house completely self reliant. You would have to do an electricity use audit. I think a 5 KW capacity might be your minimum.
There’s something else on the market called a micro CHP device. It basically generates heat for water and space heating with electricity as a byproduct. That might be worth looking into if you don’t want to drop that much money.
As for breaking down SOFC’s I’m pretty sure you read the Wikipedia article and that’s useful. The technology shows a lot of promise recently although the idea has been around for decades. New materials are coming that make them competitive. Intel is even financially backing a company coming out with a SOFC to power laptops and other electronic devices that runs on lighter fluid.
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