Despite what some opponents of solar energy would have you believe, the industry isn’t sputtering to a stop in a classic display of boom and bust.
Like any relatively new industry, there are periods of awkward growth, or “growing pains” as the new McKinsey and Company report “Solar Power: Darkest Before Dawn” plainly states. In fact, the industry is actually set to rebound quite nicely in the very near future.
One of the biggest contributors to this expected rebound is the future cost of PV solar projects. While PV solar projects are quickly getting more affordable, McKinsey believes the prices of commercial systems could plummet by more than 40% by 2015, and an additional 30% by 2020.
The new report also notes that over the next 20 years, growth will come from five different customer segments. Including expected timing of viability, these include:
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Off-grid customers (Now)
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Residential and commercial in areas with good sun conditions (2012-13 and beyond)
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Isolated grids (Now)
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Peak capacity in growth markets (2013-14 and beyond)
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New large-scale power plants (2025 and beyond)
You can read the full report here.
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