In the recent past, surveys indicate that the cost of solar energy is coming down at the rate of about 4% per annum. This is as a result of increasing conversion efficiencies of cells and the manufacturing scale economies. In 2009, the cost was estimated to be at about 8 to 10 dollars per watt. It is now clear that as the purchasing volumes increase, the costs tend to get lower and lower and this is what we can anticipate.

Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) technology is also gaining fame. This is whereby several lenses of mirrors are placed to enable production of more heat and the same is channeled to PV systems. The cost of CSP has also come down to about 2 to 4 dollars per watt. It is estimated the by 2050, 25% of world energy would come from CSP thus the cost would get even lower to about 6 to 7 cents per kilowatt. Spain and US are already witnessing the growth in the CSP industry.

The world economy is experiencing tremendous impact from the solar energy. The US alone is expecting about 27 billion dollars from PV by 2020. this again ensures that 150,000 new jobs are created. Solar energy ensures that even the remotest areas are powered and most homes are now powered by solar energy. This is evident even in social places like Hawaii’s Mauna Lani Bay Hotel that has PV cells installed on its roof. The hotel management expects that in just 5 years, the solar panel will have paid back itself. It generated about 75 kilowatts.

There is no way that solar energy can be blocked, not even politics can do that. The most interesting statistic is that of how much solar panels would be able to power the entire US in a year. It is estimated that only 25000 kilometers square is required and this is nothing compared to what is currently being used for ethanol growing. So, it is a realistic expectation to say that in the next three decades, the US and the developing world will be powered dominantly by solar energy.