According to one of the leading analysis bodies, the price of Solar Cells are going to drop to $1 by the year 2013. This would make solar power more feasible for businesses and household that have large-scale power requirements.

As per a recent report by Ernst & Young (E&Y), the prices of Solar Cells technology are falling at such a fast rate that by the year 2013 solar panels would cost just half of what they used to cost in 2009. The average one-times cost of installing solar PV panels was $2 per unit of generation capacity in 2009 and in 2011 it came down to $1.50. And, according to industry experts this rate of decline is going to continue and the prices would reach $1 in 2013.

Feasibility

Currently, solar PV technology is economically feasible for homeowners and small businesses due to government aid offered in the form of Feed-in-Tariffs. However, as per the latest analysis it is suggested that the increasing fossil fuel prices and the declining Solar Cells prices would together make the solar installations cost-effective without government aid, even on a larger scale.

With this perspective, it has become apparent that the support from the government for different types of solar power systems over these years and even in the near future made proper economic sense. On similar lines, another report displayed that the month to month spot price of silicon fell by 28%. This is important because silicon is the basic material used in making majority of Solar Cells.

The Government Perspective

While private and independent bodies have reported this drastic drop in the price of solar power technology in the future, the government advisory bodies have something else to say. According to the Committee on Climate Change (CCC) in the United Kingdom, solar power still remains expensive for being considered in the near future. However, according to E&Y, the government perspective fails to look at the wide economic benefits associated with Solar Cells.

Comparison

Dollar price per water of peak power capacity is taken as the standard for comparing the cost of power generation by different energy sources. This comparison between solar power and other energy sources can be done on the basis of following factors:

• Upfront expenses

• Fuel prices

• Discount rates

• Maintenance cost

According to the report, regular support from the government in the short-term would bring down the levelized cost of large-scale solar energy production at par with the retail price of energy in the period between 2016 and 2019. This is a clear suggestion that in just a decade, businesses with huge power demands would be able to install unsubsidized Solar Cells systems rather than buy power from the grid.