Photovoltaic industry price behavior 1975 through 2015, drivers, patterns and outcomes

During its over 40-year history as a terrestrial source of electricity the global photovoltaic industry has existed in an energy ecosystem in which demand for grid connected installations is driven by incentives, while demand for off grid installations operates under close to free market conditions. As incentives are inherently unreliable the effect has been to form an industry personality profile (behavior) that engages in available demand whether it is profitable or not. This paper observes photovoltaic industry pricing behavior from 1975 through 2015, establishing the behavioral trends and themes that have arisen and perpetuate.