Residential photovoltaic (PV) systems were twice as expensive in the United States as in Germany (median of $5.29/W vs. $2.59/W) in 2012. This price discrepancy stems primarily from differences in non-hardware or "soft" costs between the two countries,...
Solar Energy Technologies Office
May 13, 2015
minute read time
Residential photovoltaic (PV) systems were twice as expensive in the United States as in Germany (median of $5.29/W vs. $2.59/W) in 2012. This price discrepancy stems primarily from differences in non-hardware or "soft" costs between the two countries, which can only be explained in part by differences in cumulative market size and associated learning. A survey of German PV installers was deployed to collect rough data on PV soft costs in Germany to compare to results of a similar survey of U.S. PV installers. Non-module hardware costs and all analyzed soft costs are lower in Germany, especially for customer acquisition, installation labor, and profit/overhead costs, but also for expenses related to permitting, interconnection, and inspection procedures. Additional costs occur in the United States due to state and local sales taxes, smaller average system sizes, and longer project development times. To reduce the identified additional costs of residential PV systems, the United States could introduce policies that enable a robust and lasting market while minimizing market fragmentation.
| Date | March 2014 |
| Topic | Financing, Incentives and Market Analysis; Planning, Zoning, Permitting & Interconnection |
| Subprogram | Soft Costs |
| Author | Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory |