U.S. lags in lowering solar PV costs
July 16, 2014 | By
Barbara Vergetis Lundin
As a result of not implementing best practices for reducing solar photovoltaic (PV) system costs and accelerating residential and commercial customer adoption, the U.S. continues to lag behind global PV leaders Germany and Australia, according to a Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI)/Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) report. With solar module costs relatively the same everywhere, total soft costs -- including customer acquisition, installation labor, permitting, inspection and interconnection -- now comprise approximately 70 percent of the total installed price for a U.S. residential PV system, making soft costs a prime opportunity for drastic cost reductions. Combined, the U.S., Germany and Australia comprise more than 39 percent of total global distributed PV generation, according to RMI. In particular, Australia has emerged as a dominant player in the world residential solar market, with more than 10 percent of households possessing a rooftop solar system with costs of $2.56/W, closely rivaling Germany's $2.21/W (compared with $4.93/W in the U.S.), RMI reveals. The observations RMI gleaned from Australia (including the fact that without using advanced technologies or processes, Australia can install solar systems in less than two-thirds the time per kW than U.S. installers) will help U.S. solar providers streamline their installation processes. As for the distributed power generation market, research and consulting firm GlobalData says it is set to undergo substantial expansion, with its contribution to the global installed power capacity more than doubling from 190 GW in 2013 -- to approximately 389 GW -- by 2019. Having achieved approximately 92 GW of installed power capacity up to the end of 2013, the solar PV sector holds the top position in the global distributed power market segment, with a 48 percent share of the total distributed installed capacity, according to research from GlobalData. Approximately $74.8 billion was invested in the global solar PV distributed power market in 2013, accounting for a massive 77 percent share of the total investments that year, the research firm says. For more: © 2014 FierceMarkets, a division of Questex Media Group LLC. All rights reserved. http://www.fierceenergy.com/story/us-lags-lowering-solar-pv-costs/2014-07-16 |