For the renewable industry in the United States it has been a long standing dream to someday produce energy at a cost equal to other forms of ‘cheap’ energy like coal and natural gas. That dream is now reality.
Over just the past 5 years, the prices for solar and wind have plummeted. It’s shocking to see how far the costs have dropped and how fast they’ve dropped. For example, last year, solar plants were producing energy to be sold at up to 14 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh) while natural gas based energy production was much more affordable at under 7 cents per kWh. By huge contrast, July of this year Warren Buffett’s NV Energy Inc. has signed agreements to build a solar power plant with an agreed rate to sell energy at only 4.6 cents per kWh! That’s under 5 cents per kWh! Natural gas and coal based power plants so far this year have a rock bottom price of over 6 cents per kWh.
The most impressive solar production price ever, between First Solar and NV Energy, has an agreed rate of just 3.87 cents per kWh which, according to PV Magazine, is the cheapest electricity in the United States!
Naysayers argue that incredible solar production prices are only due to government subsidies that are set to expire at the end of 2016. There is some truth to that…but only in the short term. For example, a study by investment banking firm Lazard showed that without subsidies solar would cost at least 7 cents per kWh. What needs to be considered is that solar photovoltaic (PV) panels is a technology. A technology that has continued to become more efficient, and less expensive to manufacture over time. Also consider that not just the United States but the entire world is moving towards renewable energy and other countries without subsidies have already met parity with other forms of energy production. Canadian Solar, one of the big three global solar PV manufacturers has released a detailed report that they’ve continued to achieve greater cell efficiency over the past five years and expects this to continue or even accelerate. In short, Canadian Solar says the cost of solar PV modules will likely fall 25% over the next three years. In other words, without subsidies, it’s safe to say that solar will be cheaper than other forms of energy production before 2020.
The most impressive solar production price ever, between First Solar and NV Energy, has an agreed rate of just 3.87 cents per kWh which, according to PV Magazine, is the cheapest electricity in the United States!
Naysayers argue that incredible solar production prices are only due to government subsidies that are set to expire at the end of 2016. There is some truth to that…but only in the short term. For example, a study by investment banking firm Lazard showed that without subsidies solar would cost at least 7 cents per kWh. What needs to be considered is that solar photovoltaic (PV) panels is a technology. A technology that has continued to become more efficient, and less expensive to manufacture over time. Also consider that not just the United States but the entire world is moving towards renewable energy and other countries without subsidies have already met parity with other forms of energy production. Canadian Solar, one of the big three global solar PV manufacturers has released a detailed report that they’ve continued to achieve greater cell efficiency over the past five years and expects this to continue or even accelerate. In short, Canadian Solar says the cost of solar PV modules will likely fall 25% over the next three years. In other words, without subsidies, it’s safe to say that solar will be cheaper than other forms of energy production before 2020.
The Lucas gusher at Spindletop, the first major gusher in Texas. Renewable energy is here to stay. I understand that renewable energy is not yet completely understood by the masses and because it has surged in efficiency and affordability so quickly, the majority of people have not had a chance to catch on. To make it easy and remove the tech talk let’s discuss briefly what most are familiar with, oil. What is oil? Oil is simply energy. In the 1800’s and 1900’s there was the Pennsylvania Oil Rush, the Texas Oil Boom (a.k.a. the Gusher Age), the California Oil Boom, etc. Those that caught on early enough and purchased oil rich land became wealthy! IMPORTANT: Solar like oil is energy!
So you want to strike the new oil? Thankfully, It’s not as hard as striking actual oil as there are Global Horizontal Irradiation (GHI) Maps [aka Solar Heat Maps] that outline the best locations in the U.S. for solar production. After a quick glance of the GHI (click map to the right to enlarge), it’s easy to see that California is one of the best places for solar, that is one of the reasons why 1 out of 4 solar projects in the U.S. is in California. Want to know the specific areas already zoned for solar, that have power lines already available to transport the energy produced, and how to properly invest in those areas? Just come to our next meeting or contact us and we’ll be glad to share the information. In short, this period of time in your life will later be known as the Solar Rush. Will you be one that profited from the solar rush or simply one that wish they did? Don’t wait learn how to profit today!
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