US solar ‘as cheap as grid energy’ in five years

Solar power could end up being as cheap as power from the grid across large swathes of the United States in less than a decade, claim industry experts. The prediction […]

Solar power could end up being as cheap as power from the grid across large swathes of the United States in less than a decade, claim industry experts.

The prediction is based on the assumption that as the cost of solar panels and installation keep moving down, the transportation costs of electricity move up.

Eric Graber-Lopez, a renewable energy advisor at BlueWave Capital said: “Over the next five years we believe that solar power will reach grid parity in a large portion of the US market, thus opening up the opportunity for significant expansion of the industry in the years to come.”

He suggested States-wide laws were encouraging the solar industry, but “state-level incentives are still needed to truly make solar energy competitive in each regional market.”

He was speaking ahead of The Solar Future Eastern USA ’12 conference in New York next month.

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