This year we’ve covered the increasing cost of building solar power frequently: first it was the polysilicon shortage, then the general rise in costs ranging from silver paste to freight, and most recently China’s power cuts. But with new reports on LCOE put out by NREL, IHS Markit and others, now is a good time to take a step back from those temporary disruptions and remind ourselves that the fundamentals for solar power, still a relatively new technology, are constantly improving. NREL’s latest report covers up to Q1 2021, with a comparison to 2020 figures, so the examined period experienced only the beginning of the freight, polysilicon and other disruptions. Moreover, the report used a bottom-up benchmark cost system which…