Last year was a record year for global PV installations, according to the International Energy Agency’s latest Trends in Photovoltaic Applications report, released last week. Worldwide installed capacity amounted to 51 gigawatts in 2015, up from around 40 gigawatts in the two preceding years. After 20 years of PV development, the report finds there are now at least 227 gigawatts of PV installed around the world (GTM Research puts the total higher at more than 250 gigawatts), making up more than 1.2 percent of global electricity demand.
IEA: Global Solar PV Capacity Surpassed 227GW in 2015 | Greentech Media
Tesla CEO Elon Musk said the solar roof that will be sold under a combined Tesla-SolarCity will likely cost less than a normal roof to install. Tesla and SolarCity shareholders voted in favor of the $2 billion deal Thursday. In late October, Musk unveiled a new solar roof product to show his vision for a combined company with SolarCity, but did not provide specifics on how much it would cost. On Thursday after the shareholder vote, Musk said its solar roof will likely cost less than a normal roof: “It’s looking quite promising that a solar roof will actually cost less than a normal roof before you even take the value of electricity into account. So the basic proposition would be ‘Would you like a roof that looks better than a normal roof, lasts twice as long, costs less and by the way generates electricity’ It’s like, why would you get anything else.” Musk added the price he is speaking to factors in the cost of labor, as well.
Elon Musk: Tesla solar roof will likely cost less than a normal roof - Business Insider