German Bank Reports Solar Power Cost In India And Italy Has Reached Grid Parity

Germany's Deutsche Bank has released a report that concludes that generating electricity using solar collectors has reached grid parity — cost competitiveness with other industry standard sources — in some countries. Analysts with the bank claim that both India and Italy have reached grid parity and that other countries are poised to do so over the next couple of years.

Image: Solarkraftwerk Waldpolenz, the first solar 40MW CdTe PV array installed by JUWI Group in Brandis, Germany.   Credit: JUWI Group

From the time solar collectors were invented and made for sale, deriving electricity using them has cost more than doing so from traditional source — mainly coal fired plants. Because of that, solar energy has not grown as fast as some would like and its increased use in recent years has come about only because of government subsidies. Over time however, prices for solar panel components has slowly dropped making them much more price competitive. To achieve grid parity, solar power must be cost competitive with coal or other sources without relying on government or corporate subsidies.

The German Bank is particularly optimistic about solar power price parity in India, the U.S., China, the U.K., Germany, Spain and Italy and because of that is forecasting a 20 percent (30 GW) increase in worldwide demand this year — it's already pushed above 100 GW.

They note that Germany alone accounts for approximately a third of all solar power production, but project that China will soon surpass that country because of a very strong push by the government there. India too is making a strong push — the government has set a goal of producing 20 GW by 2022.

The U.S. is also making strides with construction underway in the Mojave Desert of what will soon be the largest solar farm in the world.