According to the International Energy Agency one megawatt-hour of electricity costs around $10 from a coal fired power stations, $60 from an offshore wind farm and $400 from a solar photovoltaic (PV) system, which is why some environmentalists argue that we should focus our energy on wind and wave power, not solar.
But prices have started to drop, partly because silicon has become cheaper, but mainly because of low cost Chinese companies entering the market. Half the world’s production capacity of solar PV panels is now in China, and this proportion is set to increase.
Now that the UK has joined Germany and Spain to provide generous feed in tariffs for domestic PV, expect this market to continue to grow.