Costs of Solar Installation Continue to Plummet, U.S. Report Says

The cost of installing solar power in the U.S., which fell by a staggering 17 percent in 2010, is on pace to fall even faster this year, according to a new report by the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. The installation of solar systems on homes and businesses, excluding government incentives, dropped from $7.50 per watt in 2009 to about $6.20 last year, the fastest decrease in the 13 years since the Berkeley Lab started tracking the data. During the first six months of 2011, the cost fell by another 11 percent, the report says. A major factor has been a continued decrease in the price of solar panels since 2008 as a result of increased global competition, including the growth of manufacturing in China. Other associated costs — including construction, wiring, marketing, and other components — have also fallen, the report says. While federal and state incentives cut installation costs by between 25 to 30 percent last year, such subsidies have been declining. The U.S. was the fourth-largest solar market in 2010. Earlier this week, an energy research firm reported that the decreasing cost of panels has spurred a significant increase in the number of planned non-residential projects in the U.S.