Penetration of any new energy technology into a market depends upon the cost, reliability, and performance of the systems and the quality of the energy provided to the customer. Today, the price of commercial power modules is in the $5-6/W range and lifetimes of over 10 years have been documented. The world-wide experience with tens of thousands of operating systems has demonstrated the reliability of PV technology; and documented results from many utility-connected systems have detailed the progress in power electronic devices, microelectronics control, and circuit topologies to deliver utility-grade ac power. Today, significant niche markets for residential, commercial, and utility applications of photovoltaic systems have developed around the world. Even at today’s module costs in the United States and total system cost of $8-30/W, there are many cost-effective applications; these are usually in the 5 W-10 kW range and are isolated from utility systems.
When accurate costs for extending utility transmission or distribution facilities or for installing fossil-fueled engine generators are known. PV-powered systems can compete economically; in many cases, this is true for both first cost and life-cycle costs.