Article Summarizer

Solar power has become the cheapest new source of electricity in most of the world. The cost of a solar panel has fallen by about ninety percent since 2010, mostly because factories now make panels in huge volumes. Cheaper panels mean that a solar farm can now be built for less than the fuel cost of an old coal plant in many countries. The main problem is that the sun does not shine at night. Grids therefore need ways to store energy, and large batteries are being installed next to solar farms to cover the evening peak. Pumped hydropower, which moves water uphill when power is cheap and releases it when power is needed, still stores far more energy than batteries do. Homes are joining in as well. A rooftop system lets a household make its own power during the day and sell the surplus back to the grid. In several countries a family can now pay off a rooftop system in under eight years. Solar power also needs land and materials. A large solar farm covers many hectares, and panels need silicon, silver and glass. Recycling old panels is only starting, and experts warn that a wave of retired panels will arrive in the 2030s. Even so, most energy forecasts expect solar to supply the largest share of new generating capacity for the rest of the decade. Cheap panels, better batteries and smarter grids are making that outcome likely. → gives The cost of a solar panel has fallen by about ninety percent since 2010, mostly because factories now make panels in huge volumes. Cheaper panels mean that a solar farm can now be built for less than the fuel cost of an old coal plant in many countries. A large solar farm covers many hectares, and panels need silicon, silver and glass.

Three sentences chosen from a five-paragraph article.