By John DeFore

Migrating from coal- or gas-produced electricity to solar power is a dream for most of us, but we’ve always been told that equipment costs make it an option only in the distant future. That’s about to change, according to some solar boosters who think with the right steps the United States could get 10% of its power from solar by the year 2025.

The non-profit group Co-op America and industry researchers Clean Edge made that claim in a report, issued this month, called the Utility Solar Assessment. A 76-page paper dense with graphs and data charts (click here to download a PDF), the study makes one attention-getting assertion: Given that solar tech is dropping in cost while capital and fuel expenses for other methods rise, “we project that solar PV [photovoltaics] will reach cost parity with conventional retail electricity pricing, on a straight kWh rate basis, throughout much of the U.S. by around 2015.”

Making that happen would require action on the part of “three key stakeholders” whose actions ordinary consumers have a hard time influencing. The report lays out a road map for utilities, solar companies, and governmental bodies that might look to some like a letter to Santa: smart power grids need to be built, solar systems need to become “truly plug-and-play,” and long-term financial incentives must be passed.

However tough a sell that is, it should get easier as fossil fuels grow ever more expensive while sitting in the sun remains free. As the report puts it, “Solar can offer a price hedge against volatile and increasing costs for fossil-fuel resources like coal and natural gas. Once installed, solar provides stable fixed prices to utilities and users.”

As for the cost of installation, the report projects a drop from $5.50-$7 per peak watt today to $1.43-$1.82 per peak watt in 2025.

Getting to 10% from where we are today — Co-op America says we currently get just half of one percent of our electricity from the sun — would cost an estimated $26-$33 billion per year between now and 2025. But the report concludes that isn’t bad compared to the status quo: “To put the investment in perspective: Utilities spent an estimated $70 billion on new power plants and transmission and distribution systems in 2007 alone.”

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