Re:Apple engineer killed in Tesla crash had previously compl...
by coldtea on Wednesday February 12, 2020 @07:22AM
(#22308217)
>In fact, PV prices have dropped DRAMATICALLY since 2000 (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S03014.... looks at the different trends 1986-2001 and 2001-2012), as have the prices/performance of the energy storage systems needed to make them practical.
Can't open this, but the abstract also shares this:
"Market-stimulating policies were responsible for a large share of PV's cost decline"
This part is artificial though (subsidies, etc).
Re:Apple engineer killed in Tesla crash had previously compl...
by azernik on Wednesday February 12, 2020 @05:15PM
(#22313401)
The subsidies created the scale and experience required to lower the costs; they're not included in the cost numbers. With current technology, they are cheaper without subsidies.
"By 2000 or so that curve had flattened out in the usual way as PV cells became a mature technology, and almost two decades of further experience with them has sorted out what they can do and what they can’t."
In fact, PV prices have dropped DRAMATICALLY since 2000 (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S03014... looks at the different trends 1986-2001 and 2001-2012), as have the prices/performance of the energy storage systems needed to make them practical.
I agree that it's not a silver bullet that will solve the fossil fuel crisis all on its own (at least not in time), but it is in line with the broader improvement in renewable costs and efficiency.