IRENA: Solar Photovoltaic prices have declined 80% since 2008

[nationalize the fed]

PV Magazine 11. September 2014

Kagoshima Nanatsujima Mega Solar Power Plant. (KYOCERA Corporation)

In a recently published report, the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) traces the development of solar photovoltaic and its dramatic decline in costs.

IRENA Director-General Adnan Z. Amin says in REthinking Energy (PDF) -- the first edition in a new IRENA series -- that solar PV costs fell by two-thirds between the end of 2009 and 2013 – "a speed of change comparable to that seen in the IT revolution."

Indeed, PV prices have fallen by 80% since 2008 and are expected to keep dropping. Furthermore, the report says commercial solar power reached grid parity last year in Italy, Germany and Spain and will do so soon in Mexico and France.

Solar deployment outpaced wind for the first time in 2013, reaching around 38 GW...

...The report found that technology cost reductions have been driven by:

*Efficiency improvements: The efficiency of solar PV modules in converting sunlight into electricity has improved by around 3%-4.5% per year for the last 10 years

*Economies of scale: Integrated factories are scaling up processes, providing competitive equipment prices and amortizing fixed costs over larger output

*Production optimisation: More efficient production processes and improvements in supply chain management continue to provide cost reduction opportunities...

MORE: http://www.pv-magazine.com/news/details/beitrag/irena--pv-prices-have-declined-80-since-2008_100016383/