Photovoltaic prices dropping

http://www.futurepundit.com/

begin quote from above website.

Solar Photovoltaic Prices Seen Falling
Prices are declining for polysylicon used to make silicon photovoltaic (PV) cells.
In a comprehensive report on the subject this morning, Collins Stewart solar analyst Dan Ries notes that spot market poly prices have fallen from a peak of about $450/kg in mid-2008 to the $130-$150/kg range more recently. That’s a pretty dramatic move - but the decline is far from over.
Ries contends that spot prices by mid-2009 will plunge to the $40-$60/kg level, due to a severe oversupply.
One analyst expects PV prices to drop so far that PV will start to compete with other methods of generating electricity.
The silver lining here is that in the long run, much lower prices for polysilicon are the most direct way to bring down solar electricity production costs low enough to compete with conventional utility scale power generation. With poly in the $40-$60/kg range, he says, module prices would drop to the $1.70-$2/watt range, and utility scale projects could produce power for 11 cents/watt. At that rate, he says, solar would be “reasonably competitive” with combined cycle natural gas facilities and wind turbines.
The world may be running out of oil. But it is not running out of energy. We can shift to solar, wind, and nuclear. We just need great batteries for the cars.

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So, even though it might not be good news for produces of photovotaic cells, it is very good news for the rest of us. For if, the production of these very low prices can be somehow subsidized by nations then the conversation very quickly to wind and solar power could happen within 10 years or so worldwide. A sea change in how power is generated is now possible.

Also, if I am right about the problem with sucking power out of the magnetosphere by creating power by breaking the magnetic field of magnets, then the way for humans to survive and keep their magnetosphere intact might be by going with photovoltaic solar cells. Because solar cells emulate photosynthesis in many ways. By generating mainly with photovoltaics we might be able to keep our magnetosphere intact and slow down the affects of global warming in another way in addition to reducing the amount of carbon in the atmosphere.