Solar to cost 50% less over next 10 years
Speaking on the matter at a conference in Sydney on Wednesday, Martin Green predicts that the cost of solar PV will fall by a huge 50% over the next 10 years, Mr Green, considered ‘the father of photovoltaics for his long standing work in the energy industry since 1983, insists coal cannot match solar on costs, especially since coal must reduce its own CO2 emissions.
This is not the first ambitious prediction in the solar industry, as just 10 years earlier a German study predicted solar PV by 2050 would supply a minimum of 25% of global final energy demands, including all energy, not only electricity. Here we are 10 years later and the prediction will soon be exceeded, with the level of solar installations ahead by seven years, while the costs has seen reductions seven fold from 2008.
There is no question global technology has come along leaps and bounds over the last two decades, and solar PV systems has embraced every new advancement that has come its way, module efficiency being a large focus for development and improvement. At the current efficiency level of 15-21%, Mr Green and his research team at the University of New South Wales are well on their way to confirming a new cell lens efficiency record at over 40%, basically doubling the current solar module efficiency.
With all that in mind, there should be no doubt solar PV research, led by Australia’s Martin Green will easily reach and surpass the reduced costs over 10 years, moreover solar PV will be the cheapest form of electricity across the world by 2030, and that solar – as predicted by the International Energy Agency – will become the single biggest energy source by 2050.
“Over the last century we have worked to fill in night time demand. Now we have to unravel all that and work to fill daytime demand.” – Martin Green
