Solar panels are 2x as efficient and 90% cheaper than in 2010
Has the panel price finally bottomed out?
I started working in solar in 2010. At that point everyone was talking about how cheap solar panels had become on the back of huge growth in Germany and Australia. They were around $2/W at that point, and panels were 14% efficient. Then prices just continues to tumble, faster and further than anyone could have imagined.
15 years later, panels are over 90% cheaper, and efficiency of panels are reaching 25%+.
Prices have plateaued over the last couple of years, have they finally gone as low as they can given realities of commodity prices of raw materials like aluminium and glass?
Perhaps not, I've just seen news of a 34.4% efficiency module (not cell) from Fraunhofer Institute. It seems the efficiency march continues on, which will continue to drive down prices per Watt as well.
**NOTE '2x as efficient' refers to this new module ☝️, which to be fair isn't in production, and likely won't be available to residential home solar. So a bit of a stretch, but it is a clear sign that the efficiency march continues onward.