Ten years ago anyone at a conference that said a company could make solar panels sell for a buck a watt would have been laughed out of the room! 5 years ago, that suggestion would have been mentioned in the same sentence as an unattainable solar panel revolution. Today as I write this, it has become fact!
First Solar out of Tempe, Arizona has accomplished this feat. They have been manufacturing solar modules since 2004, and the business has grown in that time 2,500%. Plus, in 2009 alone, they expect to double their output from 2008. This is a success story few others can even come close too.*
Through the years, they have managed to reduce manufacturing costs by over 70%, and expect in the near future their cost to manufacture panels will decline even further.
That is amazing from a manufacturing point of view, but imagine what this means for consumers. This marks the first time anyone has reached the $1.00 per watt milestone and other companies will have to follow suit. As manufacturer after manufacturer engineers $1.00 per watt solar, prices across the board will all be lower on the retail level as more and more companies achieve this magic number.
It will be a buyers market for consumers, as larger quantities of cost effective solar makes it way from factories that are spending less to make more. It’s a winning situation for everyone involved, more product, lower prices, greater savings.
Our hats are off to First Solar, the first to break the dollar per watt barrier, and I am absolutely sure they won’t be the last.
*http://investor.firstsolar.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=201491&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1259614&highlight=
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Thanks for sharing.
I’m glad if the solar panel price as low as one dollar. When and where can we buy with that price?
Looking forward to read your reply.