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5TH PVS IN BLOOM PROJECT MEETING

The 5th PVS IN BLOOM Project Meeting will take place in Valencia on the 7th and 8th of September. Representatives of all the eight partner organizations  from six European countries will take part, as well as national experts from different organizations for giving an an outlook on PVs, marginal area requalification and local development at the EU level.

In occasion of the meeting, also Technical Handbook of the project will be presented, a publication focusing on technical aspects of efficient PVPP development, targeting public and private investors.  

Solar power is cheaper than nuclear?

According to a new study by two researchers at Duke University solar power may have already reached that point, at least when compared to nuclear power.

It’s no secret that the cost of producing photovoltaic cells (PV) has been dropping for years. A PV system today costs just 50 percent of what it did in 1998. Breakthroughs in technology and manufacturing combined with an increase in demand and production have caused the price of solar power to decline steadily. At the same time, estimated costs for building new nuclear power plants have ballooned.

The result of these trends: “In the past year, the lines have crossed in North Carolina,” say study authors John Blackburn and Sam Cunningham. “Electricity from new solar installations is now cheaper than electricity from proposed new nuclear plants.”

If the data analysis is correct, the pricing would represent the “Historic Crossover” claimed in the study’s title.

Two factors not stressed in the study bolster the case for solar even more:

1) North Carolina is not a “sun-rich” state. The savings found in North Carolina are likely to be even greater for states with more sunshine –Arizona, southern California, Colorado, New Mexico, west Texas, Nevada and Utah.

2) The data include only PV-generated electricity, without factoring in what is likely the most encouraging development in solar technology: concentrating solar power (CSP). CSP promises utility scale production and solar thermal storage, making electrical generation practical for at least six hours after sunset.

Power costs are generally measured in cents per kilowatt hour – the cost of the electricity needed to illuminate a 1,000 watt light bulb (for example) for one hour. When the cost of a kilowatt hour (kWh) of solar power fell to 16 cents earlier this year, it “crossed over” the trend-line associated with nuclear power.

The authors point out that some commercial scale solar developers are now offering electricity at 14 cents a kWh in North Carolina, a price which is expected to continue to drop.

While the study includes subsidies for both solar and nuclear power, it estimates that if subsidies were removed from solar power, the crossover point would be delayed by a maximum of nine years.

The report is significant not only because it shows solar to be a cheaper source of energy than nuclear. The results are also important because, despite the Senate’s failure to pass a climate and energy bill this year, taxpayers now bear the burden of putting carbon into the atmosphere through a variety of hidden charges – or externalities, as economists call them. Fossil fuels currently account for 70 percent of the electricity generated in the U.S. annually. (Nuclear generates 20 percent.)

Having dropped below nuclear power, solar power is now one of the least expensive energy sources in America. In the study is not considered anyway the cost of disposal of nuclear power.

Experts predict dazzling solar future for UK

Solar PV experts predict the UK will follow in Europe's footsteps and experience significant market growth following the introduction of the new feed-in tariffs (FITs).

According to a report published in May 2010 by the European Photovoltaic Industry Association, Germany continues to dominate the European PV market with 68 market share, followed by Italy and the Czech Republic. Belgium and France both showed steady growth throughout 2009 whilst Spain's market appeared to slow because of the recession. And trailing at the bottom of the league table is the UK with installations totalling just 22 MW in 2009.

However, in April, the UK Government introduced the new FITs to encourage households and businesses to install renewable energy systems such as solar PV. With this solid foundation, the UK solar PV market looks set for substantial growth.

German PV market could double, despite feed-in tariff cuts

Italy Solar Tariff Cuts

Italy is proposing a cumulative feed-in tariff decline of 18 in 2011, but the FIT decline will be spread out across four-month periods, with 6 FIT declines in each one. Italy has been expected to implement a feed-in tariff decline at the beginning of 2011, and so, the fact that it's now moving ahead is no surprise to solar. The reduction in solar module pricing has dictated a cut in Italy's FIT scheme. There is little doubt that all the solar companies are racing to make Italy a huge market once Germany's FITs decline. Italy is already the second largest market in Europe.

The initial reaction to the Street about the Italian proposal was that even though the 18 decline in solar FITs was significant, it was less than the 25 decline that some expected Italy would propose. Italy has among the most favorable feed-in tariffs and much more sunlight than a market like Germany, and at the same time has been under the cloud of European sovereign debt pressure.

Earlier this year, in a conference call hosted by Credit Suisse, Italian solar company Kerself indicated that it expected FIT cuts of 15 to 28.

Of course, it's important to remember that at this stage the Italian government is merely proposing the plan for an 18 feed-in tariff cut spread throughout the year. It's a long road to implementing the policy. Take Germany, where FIT reductions that have been debated throughout 2010 are supposed to go into effect in a week, and yet, the German upper and lower houses of parliament still have not come to agreement on the plan.

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