Solar PV prices halved by 2010: Sharp
The president of Japan’s Sharp Co. told Reuters today that he expects the cost of generating solar power will be slashed in half within the next four years. He went on to say that solar power will be competitive with nuclear power by 2030.
But here’s the kicker: When asked about solar’s competitiveness with coal and other fossil fuels by 2030, Sharp’s president replied that “fossil fuel resources will be totally out by then.”
Interesting, hopeful — and maybe a tad unrealistic — comments from a top executive at the world’s biggest maker of solar cells.
Tyler Hamilton is a business columnist for the Toronto Star, Canada's largest daily newspaper. In addition to this Clean Break blog, Tyler writes a weekly column of the same name that discusses trends, happenings and innovators in the clean technology and green energy market. This blog is a personal project started in April 2005. It is not an official blog of the newspaper.
September 1st, 2006 at 4:02 am
There was a report in February about breakthrough solar technology from South Africa http://www.treehugger.com/files/2006/02/south_africa_pi.php A few new details have trickled out: http://www.miningweekly.co.za/?show=92093 ( scroll down to “bright spark” chapter ) “The pilot plant has shown the production cost per watt to be €0,95, verified for a 25-MW production facility, assuming a 10% efficiency and average production yield of 85%,” says Alberts. Following restructuring, IFE became Johanna Solar Technology (JST), the universal successor of IFE. This completed, JST has now started construction of a €72-million manufacturing plant of 30-MW capacity in Brandenburg, Germany. Production is set to start in March 2007. /END QUOTE For a claimed three- to fourfold decrease in costs, that would be pretty good if true. I wonder if anyone has seen those pilot panels in operation, firsthand.
September 1st, 2006 at 11:57 pm
Interesting. Hopefully he will make it come true. It sounds as though they must have a lot of production coming on line, as solar has until recently suffered from massive underfunding.
Tyler, is Sharp planning on producing their own silicon? This has always been a problem as the solar industry is dependent on scraps from the semiconductor industry.
September 2nd, 2009 at 2:24 pm
[...] Clean Break » Blog Archive » Solar PV prices halved by 2010: Sharp – told Reuters today that he expects the cost of generating solar power will be slashed in half within the next four years. He went on to say that solar power will be competitive with nuclear power by 2030. But here’s the kicker: When asked about solar’s competitiveness with coal and other fossil fuels by 2030, Sharp’s president replied that fossil fuel resources will be totally out by then. [...]
December 2nd, 2009 at 6:05 pm
electricity bill price…
The president of Japan’s Sharp Co. told Reuters today that he expects the cost of generating s [...]…