Panel prices have dropped 80% in 4 years – can they get any cheaper?

If you want to buy some absolute junk you can currently buy bottom end, ultra cheap solar panels for $0.50 per Watt. But I wouldn’t recommend it.  Unless you want to risk your roof turning into a giant barbecue.

Most solar panel factories have been losing money hand over fist for at least the last couple of years. Many of the largest companies have lost many hundreds of millions. This has led many observers to believe that solar panel manufacturers will have to start raising prices in order to survive. In fact there is evidence of this starting to happen with panel prices rising slightly in the first 2 months of 2013.

So is this the end of dirt cheap solar panels? [Read more…]