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Solar Power is Already Mainstream
PV power is not new, nor unusual. In Germany, Japan, and Southern California, grid-tied PV systems are ubiquitous. World-wide production of PV power in all forms is now greater than 8 gigawatts, which about equal to the record peak demand of the service provider for Philadelphia (PECO Energy). There is enough existing PV power in the world today to provide the entire City of Philadelphia, plus all of its surrounding suburbs and towns!

Almost every American encounters PV power every day in the form of PV powered highway signs, or consumer electronics. Every GPS connection and most of our everyday communications are facilitated by solar powered satellites. Even in states where building-application solar power remains rare, solar power in its various forms is commonplace.

PV power is nothing new. The basic technology of solar power dates to the 19th century, and by the 1950s, Bell Laboratories was producing commercially viable solar cells. The technology has been continually refined since then, with a tripling of solar cell efficiency, and an incredible cost reduction to a fraction of the 1950s's pricing – see discussion in Section 4 for more detail on pricing.

The solar industry in 2006 was an $11 billion industry, growing at an average annual rate of approximately 40%. The US market is about 9% of the global market, or just under $1B in 2006. The global market grew at 47% in 06 over 05 and at 41% in 05 over 04. It is about ten times the size it was in 2000, based on global production of 270 mW in 2000 against 2500 mW in 2006.

Where is the $1 billion solar market in the US? California comprises about 70% of the US end-user market, and New Jersey an additional 18%. Nevada, New York and Arizona each comprise about another 3% of the US market. These states have taken the lead by offering state subsidies to negate the current cost disparity to consumers between clean PV produced electricity and fossil fuel and nuclear produced power. It is simply a matter of economics.

Fundamental Economics of PV as a Power Source
Currently, PV for commercial buildings is economically viable against the cost of power from the grid only when state subsidies and federal investment tax credits are applied. As a generalized point of reference, power produced from PV costs... read on>