A study has revealed that solar energy and conventional electricity have the same cost in Spain, Germany and Italy.
The report is the most recent part of an analysis done by consulting firm Eclareon, and was done on behalf of an international group of sustainable energy interests, according to ThinkProgress. This is also the first report that focuses on solar power in the commercial sector and not in the residential sector.
While the cost of producing electricity through solar panels has gone down in these countries, the study's analyst said further progress with affordability can be difficult with Spain's insufficient regulation. Madrid recently introduced laws that prohibit the ability for people to consume electricity they produce through their own solar panels, RT reported.
"In countries such as Italy and Germany, both at grid parity and with proper regulation, PV systems (photovoltaic system) for self-consumption represent a viable, cost-effective, and sustainable power generation alternative," said David Perez, partner at Eclareon in charge of the study.
Researchers looked at a standard 30 kilowatt solar power system and evaluated its "leveled cost of energy" (LCOE). The LCOE includes all of the factors that contribute to the cost of electricity, such as maintenance, installation, depreciation and investment.
Eclareon examined the LCOE of solar energy in Germany, Mexico, Chile, Brazil, France, Spain and Italy and found that the LCOE declined in all countries for the past several years, RT reported. However, the LCOE decreased less in Spain, Italy and Germany, countries that have a well-establish infrastructure, and Chile, Brazil and Mexico are still experiencing high costs in installation.
Regulation of solar energy in European countries still exists as a problem for solar energy to compete in the energy market. In addition to laws forbiding people from generating and selling their own electricity, fees are given to people who produce their own solar energy, and sometimes laws can go back and forth in supporting and opposing solar power in a short period of time, ThinkProgress reported.
Despite the challenge of regulation, European countries are increasingly supporting the use of solar power, such as Germany, which decided to decommission all of its nuclear power plants after the Fukashima nuclear accident in 2011, RT reported. Almost 25 percent of the German power grid is currently made up of energy generated from renewable resources, and the German government looks to increase this energy use to 40-45 percent by 2025.
