Solar cheaper than fossil fuels?

By Sophie Vorrath on 29 May 2012

And while the alignment of generation costs in these countries is largely credited to increasing cumulative installed capacity, constant developments in solar PV technology are also working to drive down costs; developments by companies like Semprius – a US developer of high-concentration photovoltaic (HCPV) solar modules. In January, the North Carolina-based company set an important solar record, showing that its PV panels can convert nearly 33.9 per cent of the sunlight that hits them into electricity. Semprius says its technology is so efficient that it could soon make electricity cheaply enough to compete with power plants fueled by coal and natural gas.It’s not an altogether uncommon prediction these days. Just last week we heard from market intelligence company Global Data, whose latest report has found that the cost of generating clean energy like solar power is coming increasingly closer to the cost of generating energy from traditional, non-renewable sources. The report says that some US projects could reach grid parity as early as 2014. China is also due to witness similar developments, says the report, with grid parity for solar expected to reach in most regions by 2015-2016.