An Analysis of Residential PV System Price Differences Between the United States and Germany

Date Published
06/2013
Publication Type
Conference Paper
Authors
DOI
10.1109/PVSC.2013.6745193
Abstract

Residential photovoltaic (PV) systems are significantly more expensive in the United States than in Germany ($5.18/W vs. $2.59/W in 2012). These price discrepancies stem from differences in “soft costs” between the two countries. A survey of German PV installers was deployed to collect granular data on PV soft costs in Germany, and the results are compared to those of a similar survey of US 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.

Notes

These findings were based on an LBNL report entitled Why Are Residential PV Prices in Germany So Much Lower Than in the United States? A Scoping Analysis. To see the full report, click here.

Conference Name
39th IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists Conference
Year of Publication
2013
Conference Location
Tampa, Florida
Organizations
Research Areas
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