Dive Brief:
- Solar costs will fall by up to 30% in the next six years as “balance of system” components become less expensive, according to Lux Research.
- Lux expects that rooftop solar's levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) will fall by $0.04/kWh to $0.08/kWh in 2020 from today's costs.
Dive Insight:
“Incremental cost reductions from racking and mounting, coupled with innovative system electronics changes, will accelerate system cost reductions and help reduce LCOE," Matthew Feinstein, Lux Research senior analyst, said.
Balance of system costs (the non-module costs of putting up solar panels) account for more than 60% of the cost of installing solar panels. Getting those costs down are just one more avenue for making solar panels more cost competitive compared with grid power. Utilities are watching these developments closely.
