The global photovoltaic (PV) market has been growing exponentially since almost twenty years. This huge demand for photovoltaic systems has been mainly driven by public subsidies in the form of a variet
y of national incentive schemes. However, in Countries where successful incentive schemes have been pioneered and are now – as planned - being brought to an end, the PV market is called to the challenge of surviving without any incentive to the end user. Grid and fuel-parity represent the keystone of this emerging new phase in the history of this renewable energy technology. In this paper we present a sensitivity
analysis showing that in Sicily, Italy, the Levelized Cost of Energy from utility-scale PV plants is already competitive – if not even cheaper - with that from conventional power plants.
