Last month, I dropped a post on the feasibility of solar power for manufacturing facilities and plants ("Solar Power for Manufacturers - Does It Make Sense?").
The push of my post was that solar isn't acceptable for SMB manufacturers - yet. It's just too expensive. But, I proposed, maybe solar could be a catalyst to help energize manufacturing and help solve the energy and ecological conundrum we're in.
But according to a recent report from McKinsey titled "The Economics of Solar Power (registration required to view entire report), it seems that solar is gaining more steam as a viable, affordable energy source. It goes so far to suggest that solar could become comparable in cost to conventional electricity within 10 years.
Says McKinsey:
- Within three to seven years, solar energy's unsubsidized cost to end users will approach the cost of conventional electricity in a number of markets, including parts of the United States (California and the Southwest), as well as Italy, Japan, and Spain.
- Installed global solar capacity will grow by roughly 30 to 35 percent a year, from 10 gigawatts today to about 200 gigawatts in 2020.
While likely investment is baked into McKinsey's forecast, it's not too clear how unforeseen technological advances could affect velocity. Regardless, this is an astonishing prediction from a more than reliable, credible source.
More to follow ...
