Saturday, May 5, 2007

The Growth of Photovoltaic Solar Energy for Home Use


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According to unpublished data from the US Department of Energy, 12,093 homes had PV solar cells in use in 2006, twice as many as were in use in 2004. The number is expected to just about double yet again in 2007.

By 2011, the number of homes using PV cells is expected to quintuple the 2006 levels, to 67,492.


Source XooxleAnswers

In the next five years, residential use of photovoltaic cells to produce electricty from the sun will see explosive growth, increasing more than five-fold.

According to unpublished data from the US Department of Energy, 12,093 homes had PV solar cells in use in 2006, twice as many as were in use in 2004. The number is expected to just about double yet again in 2007.

By 2011, the number of homes using PV cells is expected to quintuple the 2006 levels, to 67,492.



The average capacity of PV cells for the home is also expected to grow, from a 2006 average of 2 kW per residence, to 2.5 kW in 2011.

Spending for home photovoltaics is growing rapidly as well, with $61.5 million spent in 2006 and $185.2 million projected spend in 2007. Spending is projected to peak in the short term in 2010, at $409.9 million, according to the USDOE data.

The full USDOE dataset is available from XooxleAnswers, and includes residential and commercial profiles of installations, spend, and power capacity for PV solar, fuel cells and other energy sources.

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