Recent US research has found that the return on investment from solar power is higher than any other renewable energy source.
The Global Solar Inverter Markets report – released by industrial market researcher SBI Energy – claims the payback period for a household solar panel system has reduced from between seven and ten years to currently between three and five years.
Predictions made by SBI also suggest the cost of solar power production will decrease by half every ten years, reaching $1 a watt by 2020.
Any further reduction in price would be due to an increase in adoption by both households and large-scale businesses.
Australians have shown enthusiasm in regards to renewable energies, particular solar power.
Figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) yesterday show that almost 192,000 Australian households currently access solar electricity.
The latest Environmental Issues: Energy Use and Conservation report shows that South Australians are the most likely to discover the benefits of solar energy, with 4.6 per cent of the state's population using it as their source of power.
The ABS report also found that Australian households are running more electrical appliances, and were using electricity to heat and cool their homes more often.
Australia joins the shift in countries outside of the European Union adopting solar energy schemes, such as China and India. Australia is also in line with the SBI's claim on the price of solar power dropping – Energy Matters reports that payback for rooftop solar panels in some Australian states can be under four years.
The SBI report claims that cumulative solar power installations have grown at a compound annual growth rate of 35 per cent since 2000, reaching 40 GW globally in 2010. This growth is expected to continue, and is estimated to reach 400 GW by 2020.