| In this day and age the renewable energy industry is | | | | added cost of shipping and other extra cost, comes |
| very much alive. Much has been blame to the rise in | | | | up around $125 (really conservative price). |
| cost of any commercial solar panels, solar chargers, | | | | After all its massed produce and quality checked and |
| solar inverters, and installation for a simple solar energy | | | | that's another cost to add-on. I estimate that a really |
| system to be out of reach. The true reason why solar | | | | efficient solar panel would now cost $225. To make |
| energy products are so high is not because it's a | | | | things simpler I will add in a lot of other stuff to the |
| high-tech product but rather the cost of producing it. | | | | panel and the extra things that is needed to go in |
| Most of us, the public at large, tend to forget that to | | | | conjunction with the panels. |
| produce a single kilo of raw material that makes up a | | | | The real cost of producing one efficient panel is |
| solar panel is really expensive. This material is also the | | | | around $225 to $300. That's it! |
| same material that is used to make computer chips. | | | | Now here's the real reason why a solar home energy |
| Yes that's right a 'computer chip'. | | | | system might cost a lot, it is the added equipment and |
| I will not go into too much detail of what the process | | | | battery storage. The components range from a simple |
| of these materials, but I can give you an idea of how | | | | $350 to $10,000 on low to middle end. This is the real |
| much it cost. The market value of this material is not | | | | reason why it's expensive, and its added features give |
| cheap, it cost about $550 (conservative figure) a kilo | | | | the solar energy system out of reach from the public. |
| back before the financial crisis around March of 2008. | | | | There are some might argue that the cost of |
| Now it's so low the market price for this commodity is | | | | producing electricity cost per watt, they are correct in |
| at $150 per kilo and projections show it will go below | | | | one aspect, but the affordability to the average |
| $100 in 2011. | | | | American household is out of reach. This is just my |
| The cost to produce one panel dependent on size, | | | | opinion on this so just give my points to ponder. More |
| also contributes to the cost. Now the price of | | | | later. |
| producing one panel of a standard size, and before the | | | | |