Read the full story at Utility Dive.
The installed cost of solar photovoltaic (PV) and battery storage systems continued to drop between 2020 and 2021 in the U.S., with utility-scale solar systems seeing a 12.3% price decline, according to a new report from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL).
The cost of residential PV fell 3.3% and commercial rooftop PV systems dropped 10.7%, the report found. The calculations rely on a bottom-up model that accounts for all costs during installation, including hardware, sales prices and labor.
The report found that balance of system costs – encompassing everything except the PV panel – had either increased or remained flat, but an overall 19% reduction in module cost drove the cost declines. A separate NREL report examined various types of PV technology and found potential cost savings for each.