Jason Liu

Solar Generation Costs on Track to Achieve Grid Parity

Thanks for the correction WOV. Didn't consider the advantage solar has due to its competition being the retail electricity market rather than through commercial power generation

On a different note, if I were signed up for any GREs, I might still be able to pass: "For the reasons stated below, I believe that solar power generation is on track to achieve grid parity in the next few years without the consideration of any government subsidies."

Solar Generation Costs on Track to Achieve Grid Parity

Sorry but this article is littered with conceptual flaws. The main one being that levelized cost is used for all forms of power generation and is the way utilities look at projects. For an engineer you don't seem to have a solid grasp of how power generation works.

How does solar compare? The levelized cost of coal energy ~0.07/kWh. Wind ranges from $0.07/kWh to $0.12/kWh depending on the wind resource.

Like you I believe that solar is the solution to a lot of our energy problems. But pulling random numbers and claiming that they will be competitive in a few years without government subsidies is not only naive but detrimental for the industry.

For solar to reach grid parity, its necessary to have commercial solar installations as they cause cost reductions through (1) economies of scale, (2) learning in production, installation and O&M. And this isn't even considering the problem of grid integration. Without government support, solar will never be able to do reach grid parity.