However, as the years have passed, we have seen a two pronged effect that has meant that solar panel efficiency has greatly increased, and the cost of harnessing solar energy has severely been reduced.
In fact, since 1980, the conversion efficiency of solar has jumped from about 5% in 1980 to over 35% today, with advancements set to continue. The conversion efficiency is a term that measures what percentage of sunlight is converted to electricity.
But it gets better, because the cost to generate solar energy has also been slashed since 1980, by a factor of about five. Again, this cost is set to get lower still.
There is a third element that makes solar power ever so attractive - that is the cost of conventional energy. Many people moan about the price of gas. In the UK, it now costs about lb1.30 per litre of petrol (that is over 2 per litre!) and while it is cheaper in the USA, prices there have also risen sharply. In fact, between 1997 to 2010 there was an 800% rise in the wholesale cost of oil. There are various reasons for this, such as conflicts in the Middle East, increasing scarcity of fossil fuels andd quite possibly pure greed and profiteering on the part of some suppliers and resellers. In any case, the signals are clear - as people we will soon not be able to afford these energy prices if the rate of increase keeps at this pace.
Origin: renewable-energy-dummies.blogspot.com
