For Cheap Solar, Look to Laws, Not Labs

Every week or two, EBN’s inbox lights up with the latest research breakthrough that could slash the cost of photovoltaics (PV) by dramatically increasing efficiency. While these laboratory “eureka” moments are genuine, developing them for the marketplace takes time. In the next few years, solar industry experts say it is not novel technology but rather old-fashioned economic incentives that can realistically bring PV into the U.S. mainstream through grid parity—the point at which the cost of generating power with PV equals that of using conventional energy sources.