Environment & Energy
Related: About this forumCarbon crash, solar dawn: ... why solar has already won
By Giles Parkinson on 3 March 2015
...
...In a detailed, 175-page report, the Deutsche analysts led by Vishal Shah say the market potential for solar is massive. Even now, with 130GW of solar installed, it accounts for just 1 per cent of the 6,000GW, or $2 trillion electricity market (that is an annual figure).
But by 2030, the solar market will increase 10-fold, as more than 100 million customers are added, and solars share of the electricity market jumps to 10 per cent. By 2050, it suggests, solars share will be 30 per cent of the market, and developing markets will see the greatest growth.
Over the next 5-10 years, we expect new business models to generate a significant amount of economic and shareholder value, the analysts write in the report. Within three years, the economics of solar will take over from policy drivers (subsidies),
Their predictions are underpinned by several observations. The first is that solar is at grid parity in more than half of all countries, and within two years will be at parity in around 80 per cent of countries. And at a cost of just 8c/kWh to 13c/kWh, it is up to 40 per cent below the retail price of electricity in many markets. In some countries, such as Australia, it is less than half the retail price.
The case for solar will be boosted by the emergence of cost-competitive storage, which Deutsche describes as the next killer app because it will overcome difficulties in either accessing the grid or net metering policies. ...
http://reneweconomy.com.au/2015/carbon-crash-solar-dawn-deutsche-bank-on-why-solar-has-already-won-51105
daleanime
(17,796 posts)GliderGuider
(21,088 posts)The place was getting boring...
pscot
(21,024 posts)Roland99
(53,342 posts)So, as more and more people move to being electric-independent (household solar panels to provide enough power for that person's home), and as electric companies start losing money due to fewer customers, how will electric companies respond?
Increasing rates to those who remain (including gov't entities, shopping centers, residential, other commercial)?
Switching to solar themselves (or at least supplementing with it) to distribute power to the grid more cheaply than w/natural gas or coal?
None of the above?
All of the above?
Jim Lane
(11,175 posts)If an individual homeowner installs solar panels but wants to remain connected to the grid as backup (for the occasional long stretch of cloudy days), the utility companies will want to charge a stiff fee just for the connection. I think this is already being pushed by some utilities in the U.S.
ffr
(22,670 posts)You can't loose a sea's ecosystem to a solar spill.
You won't see wars fought over solar embargos.
And you won't find the air polluted by sunshine.
First Speaker
(4,858 posts)mountain grammy
(26,624 posts)to reduce the burning of carbon. Should have been done years ago, you know, like when President Carter had solar panels installed on the White House.