Cost of Distributed Solar Power Fell for Fifth Straight Year in 2014 , Report Says

Prices for both residential and non-residential solar energy systems fell in 2014, marking the fifth consecutive year of declining costs for solar photovoltaic systems, according to an analysis by the U.S. Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.  Residential rooftop solar panels in the U.S. cost 40 cents per watt less than the same systems in 2013, and prices for non-residential systems fell by 70 cents per watt.

In the first half of this year, costs in a number of large markets fell by an additional 20 to 50 cents per watt, the report says.  Photovoltaic equipment costs have remained relatively stable since 2012, so the lower prices are primarily due to reductions in 1"soft" costs such as marketing, labor, permits, and inspections, the analysts explain. The report is based on data from more than 400,000 solar photovoltaic systems installed since 1998 in 42 states, representing more than 80 percent of the U.S.'s distributed solar capacity.

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