Nuclear Energy

Another study by Greenpeace, the European Solar Thermal Electricity Association and the IEA
estimates that CSP has the potential to meet up to 7% of the world’s energy needs by 2030, and
25% by 2050. dclxviii
c) Photovoltaics
A photovoltaic cell (PV) is a device that converts light into electric current using the
photoelectric effect. Though the first solar cell was constructed in the 1880s, due to high costs their
use was restricted to powering spaceships and satellites till the 1960s. This changed in the early
1970s when prices reached levels that made PV generation competitive in remote areas without grid
access. PV panels now started being used for off-grid purposes, powering homes in remote
locations, cellular phone transmitters, road signs, water pumps, and millions of solar watches and
calculators. These off-grid applications accounted for over half of worldwide installed capacity
until 2004.
In recent times, due to growing demand for renewable energy sources together with
financial subsidies, photovoltaic production has dramatically expanded. Solar PV power stations
today have capacities ranging from 10-60 MW, although proposed solar PV power stations will
have a capacity of 150 MW or more. Grid-connected solar photovoltaics (PV) are the world’s
fastest-growing energy technology: annual world solar photovoltaic (PV) installations were 5.95
GW in 2008, a 110% increase over 2007. At the end of 2009, the cumulative global PV installations
surpassed 21 GW. Roughly 90% of this generating capacity consists of grid-tied electrical systems.
Germany was the world leader in 2009, installing 3800 MW of solar PV in that year. dclxix
For solar PV energy to become a dominant source of electricity worldwide, solar costs must
become competitive with grid electricity from conventional sources. At present, solar PV (around
30 cents/kWh in the sunniest locations) is a long way from competing with conventional power
generation costs (3-5 cents/kWh). But the advantage with solar PV is that decentralized generation
is possible with it, meaning the energy source can be located at the consumer’s premises, thereby
eliminating the transmission and distribution costs. In that case, the solar PV cost needs to be
compared with the electricity tariff being paid by the consumer (around 20 cents/kWh), and not the
generation cost of conventional electricity (all cost figures are for the US). dclxx This gap is not much.
Considering the trend of falling solar PV costs over the last many years, it is expected that solar PV
costs (without subsidies) should become equal or cheaper than grid electricity costs in the sunnier
parts of the US, Japan and Southern Europe by 2015. In the more temperate part of Europe, this grid
parity is expected to happen around 2020. Grid parity without subsidies is already a reality in parts
of California. dclxxi
Global solar photovoltaic generation is therefore all set to surge in the coming years. The US
solar PV industry aims to provide half of all new U.S. electricity generation by 2025. dclxxii
Greenpeace and European Photovoltaic Industry Association estimate that by the year 2030, PV
systems could be generating approximately 1,864 GW of electricity around the world, or 14% of the
global demand. dclxxiii
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