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Solar panels lasting longer, price expected to lower
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New research being reported from the BBC News shows that the price of solar panels will fall faster than expected and will last even longer.
About 90 percent of existing solar panels are expected to last 30 years, rather than 20, as was previously predicted.
This will bring down the cost.
Image courtesy www.inhabitat.com.
According to the EU Energy Institute, which conducted the study, the panels are a good long-term investment and banks should offer mortgages on them like they do on homes.
And at a recent conference, the institute forecast that solar panels would be cost-competitive with energy from the grid for half the homes in Europe by 2020 – without a subsidy.
Incentive programs for solar panels in Germany, Italy and Spain have created manufacturing volume that’s bringing down costs. Solar panel prices dropped 30 percent last year alone due to an increase in output and a drop in orders because of the recession.
Heinz Ossenbrink, who works at the EU Institute, said rigorous testing on the panels, including heat, cold and humidity, have shown the panels on the market 10 years ago to perform well after 30 years. He said 40-year panels should be on the market soon.
Goal for solar energy developers is to create what is called “grid parity,” which is the point when it is as cheap for someone to generate power on their homes as it is to buy it from the grid.
“Basically everything (in the industry) is bound to grow still further,” Ossenbrink said. “Growing further means less cost. Less cost means grid parity.”
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