As prices for solar energy continue to drop and reach grid parity in some regions, the ongoing battle over domestic sourcing of materials continues to grow. Ahead of the next round of auctions in India under the Jawaharlal Nehru Solar Mission, the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy recently announced that approximately 300 megawatts of the (more…)

We hear a lot about grid parity, don’t we? That’s the point at which the cost of energy generated by solar, wind, and other renewables is the same as that generated from conventional sources. The author of this article on Sharp Electronics new 43.5%-efficient solar cell writes: “Sharp shattered the efficiency record with its concentrator triple-junction compound solar cell, (more…)

No, not my misspelling the title of the John Wayne classic that somehow came to mind when recently prompted by a survey in the UK Renewable Energy Installer magazine to respond to the question: “Solar experts predict the UK could achieve PV grid parity as early as 2014. Do you agree – Yes/No?” After I recorded my Yes, the poll return after 100 votes was 26% Ayes against 74% Noes. I had expected more optimism. (more…)

A new report by Global Data, a market intelligence company, says the cost of generating clean, alternative energy such as solar power is increasingly closer to the cost of generating energy from traditional, non-renewable sources.

The report focuses on the US and China cases, (more…)

California’s CSI program was designed to use gradually declining incentives to nurture an industry that would eventually be able to allow an energy user to generate their own electricity via solar more cheaply than buying from the grid. That point — known as grid-parity — is the point where rooftop solar can sustain itself without additional incentives. That’s (more…)

If energy cost trends remain consistent — with the price of retail electricity rising and solar power falling — solar energy could become cheaper than power from the grid in most major U.S. metropolitan areas by 2027, according to a recent projection.

In a new map published on the Energy Self-Reliant (more…)

Nearing grid parity, wind industry wants to “finish the job”

As much as they wished otherwise, the seemingly annual rite whereby the wind industry trots out all those nifty pie charts and bar graphs explaining why extending the Production Tax Credit for renewable energy (PTC) makes good sense is once again upon us. (more…)

That is to say: ‘closer than it appears.’

Incentives for the residential California solar market are down to $0.35/W (down from $4.50), or about 4% of the average reported cost of a system.

June set a new record for the largest amount of new (more…)

The sun is ready to go to work in the Empire State. Why, it can even clean a subway car. And these hot summer temperatures serve as a timely (and toasty) reminder that solar is ready and able to help today.

As was excellently articulated by ClimateProgress reporter Stephen Lacey last week, solar is a prime (more…)

The real alternative energy revolution takes place in small start-ups whose R&D efforts keep improving clean technology to make it applicable on a mass scale. One such company is Hypersolar, whose focus is to develop a technology that can magnify sun power to increase the power output of solar cells. (more…)