Data Points - November 10, 2011

Solar By The Numbers

Above: Graphic from the EnvironmentalLeader.com collection.

CSP shift to PV: From plans to build them as concentrating solar power plants, some 2.25GW of solar facilities are to be converted to PV, RenewableEnergyWorld.com article.

Falling prices: An article from IEEE Spectrum noted, “A solar price approaching $1.00/W would in theory make solar near-economic too and ought in principle bode very well for PV prospects.”

Much more capacity: According to a Climate Progress article posted on ElectroIQ.com, “At the end of this year, there will likely be 50,000MW of solar manufacturing capacity in place around the world, with much of that new capacity being developed in China and other Asian countries. (In the year 2000, there was only 100MW of production capacity world-wide).”

Surge in Q2: Solar PV installed in the U.S. in Q2 totaled 314MW in the second quarter, according to the SEIA (as reported on ElectroIQ.com, with the graphic below from the SEIA report). That’s up 17% from Q1/11 and up 69% from Q2/10.

Sustained drop in installation costs: According to the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, as reported on ControlEng.com (a unit of the U.S. DOE), the cost to install solar PV systems dropped 17% in 2010, followed by another 11% decline in the first half of 2011.