Solar Energy

Something’s changed about solar power, only in the last year or two. It’s not just environmentalists who think solar will soon be everywhere. Sober utility economists are now looking at cost projections and reaching conclusions that might have been regarded as nutty just a few years ago. The price just keeps plunging. Solar power is now cheaper than coal in many places and in less than a decade is likely to fall below wind and natural gas to be the lowest-cost option almost everywhere. But it’s not just the price that’s tipping the balance. Innovations like solar panels that double as roof tiles and progress in the battery technology needed to even out the power flow on nights and cloudy days are offsetting fading solar subsidies and a U.S. president who’s a cheerleader for fossil fuels.

In January, President Donald Trump imposed tariffs of 30 percent on imported solar panels in response to complaints by a bankrupt, Chinese-owned U.S. manufacturer charging that China was illegally dumping panels in the U.S. market. The tariffs were lower than many in the industry had feared, and were not expected to significantly slow solar’s U.S. growth. Worldwide, installations are highest in China, followed by Japan. India has ambitions for $160 billion in solar-power projects. Some big businesses have made splashy announcements, including Apple Inc.’s plan to spend $850 million on solar power. Also eye-catching were the textured-glass roof tiles Elon Musk’s Tesla Inc. began selling in 2017. The tiles, which resemble terracotta or slate and lie atop a standard solar cell, could combine with the home battery packs Tesla is selling as part of Musk’s push to make solar part of everyday life. And utilities — once resistant to solar power — now want to build and own farms themselves, because it allows them to boost revenue while passing construction costs to rate-payers. Overall, installed capacity in the U.S. grew 50 percent in 2016 to more than 41 gigawatts, even as investment in solar projects fell 17.4 percent — a reflection of how much more each dollar bought as prices fell.