Cost of solar energy will drop by half this year and other renewable energy by 10%, says analyst

clipped from www.worldofrenewables.com The levelised costs for solar energy will drop 50% in 2009, while the pre-subsidy cost for other renewable energy technologies will decline by 10%, according to a quarterly research note from New Energy Finance Prices for wind turbines, solar panels and other renewable energy equipment fell this year, but the declines were offset by higher financing costs in the wake of the global economic slowdown, the report explains. Prices for all solar photovoltaic (PV) modules have continued their downward trend, although the rate of decline has tapered. Thin-film solar PV remains the low-cost leader in solar with projects as cheap as US$3/W, making thin-film products 25% less expensive than crystalline silicon on a levelised basis (lifetime cost per kWh before government subsidies). “So far this year, the steady decline in the cost of equipment in sectors like solar and wind has been largely offset by the increasing costs of financing,” says Michael Liebreich of the London-based New Energy Finance.