Solar Power

[andrewducker]

Should reach grid parity in Italy next year, most of Europe by 2020 and the UK by 2030.

That's assuming trends continue as they currently are.  Which is something that never happens.

From

Comments

[johncoxon.livejournal.com]

Is grid parity where it produces enough energy to meet the current production of the National Grid, just not all necessarily at the right time?

[andrewducker]

Nope - it's where the cost per watt is the same as current grid costs.

[0olong.livejournal.com]

Speaking of which, the complete absence of capacity from that discussion made me very suspicious.

[andrewducker]

Capacity is something that has to be dealt with separately, as does base load and the like.

[0olong.livejournal.com]

Sure... but there's not much point getting excited about grid parity if solar power's only going to be able to provide 0.5% of our electricity, eh?

[andrewducker]

The point being that once it costs the same as buying it from the grid people will be happy to install it in their own homes rather than buying it from the grid. Until that point there's no financial incentive to have it supply _any_ of our electricity, purely a social one.