Solar gaining momentum in Europe and developing countries

New York Times : Despite its reputation as a cool, cloudy country, the UK led Europe in the number of new solar installations in 2014. The combination of government subsidies and low prices because of high production rates from factories in China has driven the spread of solar in many European nations. And direct costs have now reached levels where solar can compete with natural gas without the need for subsidies. Thanks to those trends, European solar companies are building solar plants in developing nations such as Chile and India. In northern Chile, high altitude and low latitude allow solar to produce electricity at 80% the cost of coal, and 60% the cost of natural gas. Subsidies have even had some negative influences in the UK and Germany, where they’ve pushed up the cost of electricity overall. For large solar installations, the UK has begun auctioning guaranteed rates, which it believes will reduce the overall cost of electricity while still spurring solar growth.