Dive Brief:

• New analysis by Deutsche Bank finds the price of solar power will be at or below average average power prices in most states by 2016, though the numbers change based on what happens to the solar production tax credit. 
• If the credit is maintained at 30%, solar with reach grid parity in 47 states; should the credit be dropped to 10%, grid parity can still be achieved in 36 states.
• Solar power is already as cheap or cheaper than conventional supplies in10 states, and those states are set to experience a boom in solar generation.

Dive Insight:

There are 10 states where solar power right now is as cheap as conventional electricity—and those states are about to see solar power installed capacity jump by 600%, according to new research by Deutsche Bank's Vishal Shaw. The bank's analysis is making the media rounds, and Bloomberg reports the findings are simple: solar is now mainstream.

Because solar power is a technology and not a fuel, the price will decline over time while fossil fuels will see prices rise. That's the underlying theory behind what Sanford Bernstein analyst Michael Park calls "the Terrordome," where even the cheapest non-renewable fuels cannot compete over time. Some estimates have solar as the largest source of power on earth by 2050, though at the moment it makes up about 1% of the world's power.