energy.gov/sunshot NREL/PR-6A20-67142(1) NREL has been modeling U.S. photovoltaic (PV) system costs since 2009. This year, our report benchmarks costs of U.S. solar PV for residential, commercial, and utilityscale systems built in the first quarter of 2016 (Q1 2016). Costs are represented from the perspective of the developer/installer; thus all hardware costs represent the price at which components are purchased by the developer/installer. Importantly, the benchmark this year also represents the sales price paid to the installer; therefore, it includes profit in the cost of the hardware and the profit the installer/developer receives, as a separate cost category. However, it does not include any additional net profit, such as a developer fee or price gross-up, which are common in the marketplace. We adopt this approach owing to the wide variation in developer profits in all three sectors, where project pricing is highly dependent on region and project specifics such as local retail electricity rate structures, local rebate and incentive structures, competitive environment, and overall project/deal structures (2) Our methodology includes bottom-up accounting for all system and projectdevelopment costs incurred when installing residential, commercial, and utility-scale systems, and it models the capital costs for such systems. In general, we attempt to model typical installation techniques and business operations from an installed-cost perspective, and our benchmarks are national averages of installed capacities, weighted by state. The residential benchmark is further averaged across installer and integrator business models, weighted by market share. All benchmarks assume non-union construction labor, although union labor cases are considered for utility-scale systems.(3) This report was produced in conjunction with several related

This report benchmarks U.S. solar photovoltaic (PV) system installed costs as of the first quarter of 2017 (Q1 2017). We use a bottom-up methodology, accounting for all system and projectdevelopment costs incurred during the installation to model the costs for residential, commercial, and utility-scale systems. In general, we attempt to model the typical installation techniques and business operations from an installed-cost perspective. Costs are represented from the perspective of the developer/installer; thus, all hardware costs represent the price at which components are purchased by the developer/installer, not accounting for preexisting supply agreements or other contracts. Importantly, the benchmark also represents the sales price paid to the installer; therefore, it includes profit in the cost of the hardware, 1 along with the profit the installer/developer receives, as a separate cost category. However, it does not include any additional net profit, such as a developer fee or price gross-up, which is common in the marketplace. We adopt this approach owing to the wide variation in developer profits in all three sectors, where project pricing is highly dependent on region and project specifics such as local retail electricity rate structures, local rebate and incentive structures, competitive environment, and overall project or deal structures. Finally, our benchmarks are national averages weighted by state installed capacities. Table ES-1 summarizes the first order benchmark assumptions. Table ES-1. Benchmark Assumptions Unit Description Values 2017 U.S. dollars (USD) System Sizes In direct current (DC) terms; inverter prices are converted by DC-to-alternating current (AC) ratios. PV Sector Description Size Range Residential Residential rooftop systems 3-10 kW Commercial Commercial rooftop systems, ballasted racking 10 kW-2 MW Utility-Scale Ground-mounted systems, fixed-tilt and one-axis tracker >2 MW

This report benchmarks installed prices of U.S. solar photovoltaic (PV) for systems built in the first quarter of 2015 (Q1 2015), and it is the first in an intended series of annual benchmarking reports covering residential-, commercial-, and utility-scale systems. Our methodology includes bottom-up accounting for all system and project-development costs incurred when installing residential-, commercial-, and utility-scale systems, and it models the cash purchase price for such systems. In general, we attempt to model best-in-class installation techniques and business operations from an installed cost perspective, and our benchmarks are national averages of installed capacities, weighted by state. The residential benchmark is further averaged across installer and integrator business models, weighted by market share. All benchmarks assume nonunion construction labor. Benchmarked system prices are presented in Figure ES-1.

This report presents results from the second U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) sponsored, bottom-up data-collection and analysis of non-hardware balance-of-system costs-often referred to as "business process" or "soft" costs-for U.S. residential and commercial photovoltaic (PV) systems. Annual expenditure and labor-hour-productivity data are analyzed to benchmark 2012 soft costs related to (1) customer acquisition and system design and (2) permitting, inspection, and interconnection (PII). We also include an in-depth analysis of costs related to financing, overhead, and profit. The second annual survey of U.S. PV installers was deployed from September 2012 to May 2013, focusing on customer acquisition and PII costs for the study period of January 1 to June 30, 2012. We gathered data from 55 residential PV installers, representing 4,260 residential installations and approximately 27 MW of residential capacity installed during the first half of 2012. We cleaned the data for outliers, yielding sample sizes ranging by cost category from 47 to 53. We also gathered data from 22 commercial PV installers, representing 269 commercial PV installations during the 6-month study period for a total of 66 MW of capacity.

Executive SummaryThis report presents results from the first U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) sponsored, bottomup data-collection and analysis of non-hardware balance-of-system costs-often referred to as "business process" or "soft" costs-for residential and commercial photovoltaic (PV) systems. Annual expenditure and labor-hour-productivity data are analyzed to benchmark 2010 soft costs related to the DOE priority areas of (1) customer acquisition; (2) permitting, inspection, and interconnection; (3) installation labor; and (4) installer labor for arranging third-party financing. Annual expenditure and labor-hour data were collected from 87 PV installers. After eliminating outliers, the survey sample consists of 75 installers, representing approximately 13% of all residential PV installations and 4% of all commercial installations added in 2010.Including assumed permitting fees, in 2010 the average soft costs benchmarked in this analysis total $1.50/W for residential systems (ranging from $0.66/W to $1.66/W between the 20 th and 80 th percentiles). For commercial systems, the median 2010 benchmarked soft costs (including assumed permitting fees) are $0.99/W for systems smaller than 250 kW (ranging from $0.51/W to $1.45/W between the 20 th and 80 th percentiles) and $0.25/W for systems larger than 250 kW (ranging from $0.17/W to $0.78/W between the 20 th and 80 th percentiles). Additional soft costs not benchmarked in the present analysis (e.g., installer profit, overhead, financing, and contracting) are significant and would add to these figures. The survey results provide a benchmark for measuring-and helping to accelerate-progress over the next decade toward achieving the DOE SunShot Initiative's soft-cost-reduction targets.We conclude that the selected non-hardware business processes add considerable cost to U.S. PV systems, constituting 23% of residential PV system price, 17% of small commercial system price, and 5% of large commercial system price (in 2010). These processes present significant opportunities for further cost reductions and labor-productivity gains.