Swanson's law Swanson's law Swanson's law is the observation that the price of solar photovoltaic modules tends to drop 20 percent for every doubling of cumulative shipped volume. At present rates, costs halve about every 10 years. It is named after Richard Swanson, the founder of SunPower Corporation, a solar panel manufacturer. Swanson's law has been compared to Moore's law, which predicts the growing computing power of processors. Crystalline silicon photovoltaic cell prices have fallen from $76.67 per watt in 1977 to $0.36 per watt in 2014. Plotting the module price (in $/Wp) versus time shows a dropping by 10% per year.
Skidmore v. Swift & Co. majority in "Christensen" held that an agency's interpretation of a statute, announced in more informal agency papers (such as an opinion letter), is entitled to "Skidmore" deference, not "Chevron" deference. "United States v. Mead Corp.", 533 U.S. 218 (2001) explicitly reaffirms Skidmore and reiterates deference to agency interpretations that do not have statutory authority resulting from a rule-making process are based on "the agency's care, its consistency, formality, and relative expertness, and to the persuasiveness of the agency's position." Skidmore v. Swift & Co. Skidmore v. Swift & Co., 323 U.S. 134 (1944), is a United States Supreme Court decision