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Invented in the 1950s, photovoltaics (PV) – the direct conversion of sunlight into electricity by solar cells – is increasingly viewed as a key element in building a sustainable energy future.
Concerns over global warming, rising energy costs, reliance on foreign oil and decreasing worldwide oil reserves has fueled rapid growth of solar power markets. Over the past five years, Japan and Germany have been world leaders in promoting, supporting and building solar power capacity.
Renewed interest in solar electricity is now spreading to North America. Led by legislative support and strong consumer demand, California is poised to become the world's largest solar market. A $10+ billion dollar industry today, solar energy is projected to become a $70 billion dollar industry by 2010, with annual growth rates of 30 to 50 percent.
The PV Advantage
Unlike wind and biomass which must compete with wholesale energy prices, solar directly offsets and thus competes with retail electric rates because rooftop PV systems are easily installed on homes and businesses, providing electricity directly to the occupants with virtually no transmission costs. When the PV system generates a surplus of electricity, the excess is fed into the grid and sold back to the utility company at the same retail rate at which the utility sells electricity. In parts of the USA retail electricity rates are as high as 30 cents per kilowatt hour, making solar-generated electricity already price-competitive even without subsidy.
The combination of decreasing solar manufacturing and installation costs; rebates, tax credits and other government incentives; and steadily rising conventional electricity rates is rapidly making solar-generated electricity a viable option to an increasing number of electrical ratepayers nationwide. These trend lines promise to continue until electricity from the sun is fully cost-competitive throughout North America without direct government support.
Realizing the Potential
We believe that solar will become part of the mainstream energy supply within a decade. Accomplishing this mission will entail substantial growth in the size and number of companies that cost-effectively manufacture, sell, install and service solar power systems. This is where we see tremendous need and opportunity.