How cheap does solar power need to get before it takes over the world?

Re:How cheap does solar power need to get before it takes ov... by alok-g on Tuesday April 19, 2016 @12:02AM (#11524795)

>> 25 cents per watt by 2050 — down from around $3 per watt today

Can I trust a report that does not even have the units right?! Price should be proportional to energy (i.e., Joules or Watt-seconds) not power (Watts).

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Re:How cheap does solar power need to get before it takes ov... by smac8 on Tuesday April 19, 2016 @12:11AM (#11524829)

Huh? What's wrong with measuring in price/watt? Price/watt is actually the standard for comparing electricity generation due to not having to create arbitrary units of time to compare with

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Re:How cheap does solar power need to get before it takes ov... by ScottBurson on Tuesday April 19, 2016 @01:43AM (#11525101)

You're mistaken. Fuel is sold by price/energy, effectively, but generating capacity is sold by price/power. Since in the case of solar PV, the "fuel" is free, the only cost worth mentioning is the capacity cost.

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Re:How cheap does solar power need to get before it takes ov... by acchow on Tuesday April 19, 2016 @12:08AM (#11524819)

Both are relevant. The government and companies probably build capacity in watts (power), but consumers purchase actual joules (energy).

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Re:How cheap does solar power need to get before it takes ov... by gozur88 on Tuesday April 19, 2016 @02:07AM (#11525164)

Installed capacity is normally measured in watts. It's really only valuable for trending within the same technology, though, unless you include the capacity factor.

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Re:How cheap does solar power need to get before it takes ov... by _fizz_buzz_ on Tuesday April 19, 2016 @01:39AM (#11525082)

No, it shouldn't be Ws. It's the ratio of the manufacturing cost per rated power of PV-modules.

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