
The solar market has grown in recent years as a result of a return on investment that is higher than for any other renewable energy resource.
The high ROI is credited to large scale technological improvements that are expected to bring down the cost of solar power generation to $1 per watt by the year 2020, according to a new SBI report. The report also pointed to an increase in low cost production sites. Given these factors, the report predicted the cost of solar powered production will decrease by half every 10 years, reaching as low as $0.50 per watt by 2030.
As a result, the return on investment period for solar projects is predicted to drop from seven to 10 years to three to five years, the report stated.
"During 2011-2012, we expect a short-term lull in the European Union PV market, primarily due to FiT rate cuts and regulations on farm land usage for ground mount installations," Arun Kumar, SBI Energy analyst and author of the report, said. "But this will be offset by installations in the high growth markets of North America and Asia, and China in particular."
Every hour the sun beams enough energy onto the Earth to satisfy the world's energy needs for a year, according to National Geographic.

