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 p1mrx on Tuesday April 19, 2016 @01:55AM (#11525130)

Li-ion 18650 cells held 2300mAh in 2005[1], and 3350mAh today[2]. That's an increase of 45% in just under 11 years. If capacity were really growing at 8% per year, then 18650 cells should have a capacity of 5300mAh by now.

[1] http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?88468-Tri...

[2] http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb/showthread.php?417736-Te...

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Re:How cheap does solar power need to get before it takes ov... by imaginenore on Tuesday April 19, 2016 @06:22AM (#11525981)

That's 3.5% per year growth. Not bad.

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Re:How cheap does solar power need to get before it takes ov... by eru on Wednesday April 20, 2016 @05:31AM (#11533192)

Oh, it's not just one technology getting the increase, but switching to other technologies over time.

Thanks for digging up the numbers!

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Re:How cheap does solar power need to get before it takes ov... by marvin on Tuesday April 19, 2016 @03:40AM (#11525449)

Did you compensate for cost in this example?

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Re:How cheap does solar power need to get before it takes ov... by imaginenore on Tuesday April 19, 2016 @06:21AM (#11525975)

Cost has nothing to do with this argument. He is talking about energy density.

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Re:How cheap does solar power need to get before it takes ov... by ars on Tuesday April 19, 2016 @09:28AM (#11526743)

Quite the opposite. For grid storage (in contrast to cars) energy density is irreverent (there is plenty of space). What matters is cost.

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Re:How cheap does solar power need to get before it takes ov... by eru on Tuesday April 19, 2016 @07:19PM (#11531252)

I was talking about cost. I don't know about p1mrx.

In any case, a bit of Googling will give you more details about the improvements than my faulty memory..

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