Tracking the Sun

Tracking the Sun is a yearly report issued by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the US Department of Energy. The report tracks trends and patterns in the installed cost of residential, commercial up to 500kW and industrial/utility systems over 500kW. Below is a bulleted list of highlights from the report. You can find the full report HERE.

Data Sample Size
Comparison of Data Sample to All U.S. Residential and Non-Residential PV Systems. Image courtesy LBNL
  • Installed Prices Continued to Decline through 2015 and into 2016.
  • Recent Installed Price Reductions Have Been Driven Primarily by Declines in Soft Cost
  • Installed Prices in the United States Are Higher than in Most Other Major National PV Markets
  • Significant Scale Economies Exist for Both Residential and Non-Residential Systems
  • Residential New Construction Offers Significant Installed Price Advantages Compared to Retrofit Applications
  • Module-Level Power Electronics Have a Seemingly Small Effect on Installed Prices