New research shows that the cost of installing and owning solar panels will fall even faster than expected, BBC News reported.
Some 90 percent of existing solar panels last for 30 years, instead of the predicted 20 years — which brings down the lifetime cost, according to the independent EU Energy Institute.
In fact, the panels are such a good long-term investment that banks should offer mortgages on them like they do on homes, the institute said.
The institute forecasts that solar panels would be cost-competitive with energy from the grid for half the homes in Europe by 2020 – without a subsidy. Incentive programs for solar panels in Germany, Italy and Spain have created manufacturing volume that’s bringing down costs.
Due to the recession, solar panel prices dropped 30 percent last year alone due to an increase in output and a drop in orders.
China has underpinned its solar industry with a big solar domestic program, which would keep prices falling. And there are large-scale solar plans in the U.S. and India, according to Heinz Ossenbrink, who works at the institute.
Panels had been expected to last for 20 years and price calculations were based on this (with a free energy source, purchase and installation represent almost the entire price of solar power).
The institute’s laboratory has been subjecting the cells to the sort of accelerated aging through extremes of heat, cold and humidity that has long been a benchmark for the car industry, Ossenbrink said.
These tests have shown that more than 90 percent of the panels on the market 10 years ago are capable of still performing well after 30 years of life, albeit with a slight drop in performance and Ossenbrink says 40-year panels will be on the market soon.
