GLOBAL SUN SHINES – TOMORROW

Solar Power Has Highest Return On Investment Among Renewable Energy Sources
24 October 2011 (Solar Industry)

"Return on investment from solar power is higher than from any other renewable energy source…[and] large-scale technological improvements…are expected to bring down the cost of power generation to $1/W by 2020, according to a new report from SBI Energy. The payback period for a typical PV project has…come down to three to five years, from seven to 10 years.

"The report predicts that the cost of solar power production will decrease by half every 10 years, reaching as low as $0.50/W by 2030. Large-scale adoption of PV technology and the emergence of low-cost production sites in China, Taiwan and other Asian markets will further reduce the cost of production..."

Today the market is in turmoil (click to enlarge)

"Since 2000, cumulative PV installations have grown at a compound annual growth rate of 35%, reaching 40 GW globally in 2010…[T]he market is estimated to reach 400 GW by 2020…[T]he global PV inverters market, currently valued between $5.5 billion and $5.8 billion, will reach $7.5 billion in 2015…

"China's market is likely to reach the 1 GW cumulative installation mark this year…India and the rest of the Asia Pacific region hold long-term growth potential, with clear government road maps for increasing the share of renewable energy generation…"