Nice article on Sustainable Business.com on the solar's industry's ability, even prediction, that they can get their install costs down to $1kw, which is way below (we were just quoted $3,15 on a big project, but install costs can be as high at $5kw.
Think how affordable solar power would become, and how quickly an investor would get their money back on the capitol used to install a system--small or large. The economics would totally change, and the industry would not longer be dependant on federal and state tax credits. This would be an incredible milestone for the industry and for the world switching to renewable energy. We'd see an avalanche of new systems come on line.
Here's the link: http://www.sustainablebusiness.com/index.cfm/go/news.feature/id/1894.
Take a look at some of the article:
"This article first appeared in Solar Today
by Mike Koshmrl
With 1000 "little cuts", SunShot aims to drop solar costs 75% in less than 10 years.
It's easy to be skeptical about the Dept of Energy's (DOE) SunShot Initiative. The goal, installing utility-scale solar at $1 per watt by 2020, would bring solar costs down to 6 cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh), roughly the cost of coal-fired electricity.
The name, SunShot, is a play on President Kennedy's 1961 pledge to land a man on the moon by the end of the decade. DOE Secretary Chu announced the $27 million program in February, the funds for which will be spread among nine companies. How can $27 million make such a big impact?
To achieve $1 per watt, the solar industry needs to streamline in a big way. It will need considerable module efficiency gains and slashed costs for installation, operations and maintenance and all other system components. Photovoltaic (PV) modules will need to come down 70%, inverters 55% and construction-related costs nearly 75%. "
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