If you listen closely, you can almost here the music and a famous announcer saying, Da da da da, Solar Cells, Ready for Prime Time! And with the coming of the new year, it might be the time to turn those dreams of solar cells into reality.
First of all, there might be a buyers market for solar cells next year. Some of the major solar cell manufacturers may cut prices on solar panels, because solar cell growth is not as robust as they want it. (the solar cell industry only grew 25% in 2008 compared to 35% and 40% growth in previous years)
Solar cell efficiency is at the highest it\’s ever been, while overall prices have not gone up. That\’s one of the reasons why growth has been so phenomenal, since you get more bang for the buck, or as they say in the business, more kilowatts for the dollar, at the same price.
More states will be giving tax benefits and rebates in the next year, mainly due to the new government administration set to take office in January. Our government is set to pass major incentives for anyone who wants to use alternative energy, and that means easier access and much more cost effectiveness for you.
The best part is that, only in the past few years have appliance manufacturers gotten on the alternative energy wagon. Almost every appliance you can think of, from refrigerators to microwave ovens, have been designed to run on 12 volts of power. And we are not talking about house trailer sized models here, I mean full sized household appliances that can run directly off of the energy stored from solar cells.
So there you have it, with all these advances in solar cells, this might just be the right time to become a part of this form of alternative energy. Because here and now, solar cells are ready for prime time!