An Energy Revolution: What Caused Solar Costs to Fall 99%?

This definitive guide tries to accurately explore what factors have been most important in contributing to the amazing decline in solar panel prices over the past 4 decades. If you’d like a quick look at the Top 5 Reasons for Falling Solar Costs, you can check out our Infographic here.

Table of Contents

  1. The Falling Cost of Solar
  2. What Factors Contributed to the Fall in Cost for Solar?
  3. MIT’s Model: Evaluating the Causes of Photovoltaics Cost Reduction
  4. Low-Level Factors of Falling Solar Cost
  5. High-Level Factors of Falling Solar Cost
  6. “Market-Stimulating Policies” Played a Large Role in the Falling Cost of Solar
  7. Where are Solar Costs Sitting Today?
  8. What does the future hold for Solar costs?
  9. Is now the time to invest in a solar generator?
  10. Get Started Today!

The Falling Cost of Solar

The drastic fall in the cost of solar technologies can be considered one of renewable energy’s greatest success stories. We’ve seen time and time again that from a cost perspective the carbon-intensive way of doing things is the cheapest way to get something done. And while this was the case in the world of energy production for a long time, the tables have turned significantly when it comes to solar energy.

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Top 5 Energy RFP Pitfalls

Whether it’s a public or private sector energy organization, many companies rely on Requests for Proposals (RFPs) to collect, evaluate, and determine the most competitive solution to ensure the success of their business and operations. A responding bidder is required to invest a large amount of time, effort and money into developing a submission to an RFP. In most cases, bidders must display some level of site control, at least have submitted an application for interconnection, and have completed at a minimum a desktop assessment of the natural and cultural heritage features on the project site and surrounding areas. By the time a bidder is prepared to respond to an RFP, they likely have already invested thousands of dollars into the initial development of the project, if not more. Increasingly, requirements for community outreach and engagement are being added to the RFP process, which adds additional effort for the bidder for community meetings, outreach, and to facilitate building the on-going relationship. There are any number of pitfalls that could cause your submission to be scored poorly or worse, terminated. Below are the top 5 RFP pitfalls that we’ve either helped our clients avoid or heard horror stories from clients’ previous experiences.

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