Back in 2011, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) began something called The SunShot Initiative . The intent was to set 2020 and 2030 targets making solar power more affordable in three categories: utility-scale generation, commercial, and residential. Well, the DOE recently announced that we hit the 2020 goal for utility generation… three years early. Now, these goals don’t take subsidies into account. It’s the actual technology that’s getting more and more cost-effective. In other words, solar power is quickly maturing. Here’s where it’s going next… Solar Power Costs are Falling Quickly The targets are set in something called a “levelized cost of energy” (LCOE). This measures the cost of electricity generated by solar energy systems in a way that is comparable to the cost of electricity from other sources. The goal is to have solar become competitive with conventional power sources. LCOE is calculated by combining the initial […]