It is estimated that in 2020, generating electricity using solar
photovoltaic (PV) panels will cost about 25.3 pence per
kilowatt-hour (p/kWh). This cost may fall as technological
improvements increase the efficiency of solar panels. Research
in the US aims to reduce the cost of manufacturing solar PV
panels by producing the necessary crystalline silicon wafers
more cheaply. This research is still at an early stage.
Researchers are also investigating thin-film PV cells, which
require less silicon than a conventional cell, and new
semiconducting materials such as organic cells and nano-rods,
which could replace silicon entirely. China's PV cell
manufacturing industry is thriving and is predicted to continue
expanding at least until 2020. Many energy providers have found
that the affordability of solar energy can be improved by
importing cells from China, rather than manufacturing them
domestically. Subsidies for solar power Feed-in Tariffs (or
FiTs) reward energy users for generating electricity using
renewabl