To meet the Biden administration’s ambitious goal to achieve a net zero power sector by 2035, experts agree the cost of solar power and energy storage will need to drop. NREL reports that solar and storage costs have both fallen over the past decade. The price of residential solar, for example, was reported at $2.65/W in the first quarter of 2021, down from $7.53/W in 2010; utility-scale solar was $0.89/W compared to $5.66/W a decade ago.
That was driven in large part by higher module efficiency and lower module cost, NREL researchers said in a webinar on Tuesday. A separate report found that the price of different module technologies – including crystalline-silicone, cadmium telluride and copper indium gallium diselenide – are forecast to drop in the coming years with more efficient manufacturing.
