Does solar energy have a cost effective shot for residential use?

Question

Does solar energy have a cost effective shot for residential use?

Answer 1

It might take 20 years to pay back the initial cost if power prices don't rise between now and then (yea, right), and they might only put out 50% of their orriginal rated output by that time, but have you ever heard of any power company that would stop charging you for power after 20 years with them?

Answer 2

SHORT ANSWER:

It depends on:

The solar irradiation where you live (e.g. New Mexico vs. Norwegian fog)

The local electricity price (e.g. 20ct/kWh in Sicily vs. 2.5ct/kWh in China)

Answer 3

YES

  Advancements in efficiency and cost of production are moving rapidly.  Grid parity with fossil fuel power is only a few years away.

   Tax credits for solar are still necessary.  However, tax credits for all alternative energy sources are miniscule compared with those for oil, gas, coal or nuclear.  Especially oil and gas, which have subsidies estimated at up to $80 billion a year.  

http://www.eoearth.org/article/Ten_most_...

http://www.setamericafree.org/saf_hidden...

  Solar power plants, both Concentrating PV and Concentrating solar thermal are suitable for more centralized power.  

See this article from Scientific American on a proposal to convert our electric grid to solar, using solar power plants in the southwest.

Scientific American  A Solar Grand Plan

http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=a-so...

And go to Green Wombat website to read about what is already happening in California and Arizona.

http://blogs.business2.com/greenwombat/

  According to Ausra, one of the solar thermal companies:

  "Solar thermal power plants such as Ausra's generate electricity by driving steam turbines with sunshine. Ausra's solar concentrators boil water with focused sunlight, and produce electricity at prices directly competitive with gas- and coal-fired electric power."

"Solar is one the most land-efficient sources of clean power we have, using a fraction of the area needed by hydro or wind projects of comparable output. All of America's needs for electric power – the entire US grid, night and day – can be generated with Ausra's current technology using a square parcel of land 92 miles on a side. For comparison, this is less than 1% of America's deserts, less land than currently in use in the U.S. for coal mines."

Answer 4

Some places are built so that if the home owner creates too much energy from their solar panels, they can sell that energy to the electric company.

Answer 5

Yes, especially if you live in the Southwest where there is plenty of sunlight.  You could actually create enough solar energy that you are a net producer of electricity in some states.

Answer 6

Solar water heating is almost certainly cost effective.  And as natural gas prices go up and up, it only becomes more and more cost effective.

Solar electricity is still quite expensive.   There have been some recent innovations (such as the development of "thin film" solar technologies) that promise to bring the price down in the next 10 years.   Up until now, the only realistic PV technology has been silicon cells - which are expensive to manufacture.   Thin film technology doesn't have the same limitations, and as a result, the price is expected to drop considerably as production of them increases.   It will take several years, but prevailing opinion is that they will become cost-competitive with other forms of electric generation in the coming years.

Hope that helps.