Reducing solar PV soft costs: A focus on installation labor

Morris, Jesse; Calhoun, Koben; Goodman, Joseph; Seif, Daniel

doi:10.1109/pvsc.2014.6925654

Cited by 25 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 3 publications

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“…A recent field study by the Rocky Mountain Institute-using a time and motion methodology for residential PV installations in both countries-confirmed our findings and provided further details on differences in installation practices that highlight remaining optimization opportunities for U.S. installers (Morris et al, 2013). In Germany, the bulk of installation labor consisted of cheaper non-electrician labor (77% of total man-hours), whereas non-electrician labor represented only 65% of total installation labor hours for U.S. residential systems.…”

Section: Survey Findingssupporting

confidence: 79%

An analysis of residential PV system price differences between the United States and Germany

2014

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addition we are indebted to the helpful comments of our anonymous reviewers. Of course, any remaining errors or omissions are our own. iv EXECUTIVE SUMMARYResidential photovoltaic (PV) systems were twice as expensive in the United States as in Germany (median of $5.29/W vs. $2.59/W) in 2012. This price discrepancy stems primarily from differences in non-hardware or "soft" costs between the two countries, which can only in part be explained by differences in cumulative market size and associated learning. A survey of German PV installers was deployed to collect granular data on PV soft costs in Germany, and the results are compared to those of a similar survey of U.S. PV installers. Non-module hardware costs and all analyzed soft costs are lower in Germany, especially for customer acquisition, installation labor, and profit/overhead costs, but also for expenses related to permitting, interconnection, and inspection procedures. Additional costs occur in the United States due to state and local sales taxes, smaller average system sizes, and longer project-development times.To reduce the identified additional costs of residential PV systems, the United States could introduce policies that enable a robust and lasting market while minimizing market fragmentation. Regularly declining incentives offering a transparent and certain value proposition-combined with simple interconnection, permitting, and inspection requirements-might help accelerate PV cost reductions in the United States. HIGHLIGHTS• Residential PV system prices are twice as high in the USA than in Germany in 2012.• Different cumulative national PV market sizes explain only 35% of price gap.• Installer surveys show that price differences stem from non-module and soft costs.• Largest cost differences stem from customer acquisition and installation labor.• Incentives in the US are less effective in driving and following cost reductions.v

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Section: Survey Findingssupporting

confidence: 79%

An analysis of residential PV system price differences between the United States and Germany

2014

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“…For smaller residential systems (10 kW and under), installation can be completed in as little as one day (Morris et al 2013), though construction time requirements increase with increasing system size (Goodrich et al 2012). In our sample, the median number of construction days is 2 for residential systems and 4 for small commercial systems (Table 6).…”

Section: Results For Full Us Samplementioning

confidence: 96%

A State-Level Comparison of Processes and Timelines for Distributed Photovoltaic Interconnection in the United States

Ardani

Davidson

Margolis

et al. 2015

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This report presents results from an analysis of distributed photovoltaic (PV) interconnection and deployment processes in the United States. Using data from more than 30,000 residential (up to 10 kilowatts) and small commercial (10-50 kilowatts) PV systems installed from 2012 to 2014, we assess the range in project completion timelines nationally (across 87 utilities in 16 states) and in five states with active solar markets (Arizona, California, New Jersey, New York, and Colorado). We evaluate the number of business days required for: * While California does not have a specific PTO timeline requirement, it has a statutory requirement that all net-metered PV systems (up to 30 kW) be issued PTO within 30 days of application. ** We use the requirement upper limit for projects, which assumes the utility inspection and/or witness test are not waived. *** A 20-day threshold is assumed for analytic purposes, because Arizona has no interconnection timeframe requirements.

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“…These loads will still be considerably smaller than any of the ballasted roof mounting systems that add significant BOS hardware costs and labor costs associated with installation (Morris et al, 2013). The snow loading data can be found in the building code as well as values for max snow drift pressures and max fresh snow fall pressure.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Total U.S. cost evaluation of low-weight tension-based photovoltaic flat-roof mounted racking

Wittbrodt

Pearce

2015

Solar Energy

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The economics in the U.S. of solar photovoltaic (PV) systems is changing rapidly as the cost per unit power of PV modules has dropped quickly. These costs reductions have two important results: marked decrease in levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) into ranges competitive or better than traditional electricity-generation technologies and the economic role of racking has been gaining prominence relative to that of modules. As the relative importance of costs of PV racking has been marginal historically, there has been relatively little progress on reducing the materials and costs associated with it, which has caused racking to contribute to a significant portion of costs of entire PV systems. In order to overcome this challenge this study investigates a novel low-weight PV racking system for commercial rooftops based on crossed cables (X-wires) and compares it to racking systems already available on the market on capital costs, labor costs for installation, and technical specifications such as adaptability and power packing factor. The results of over 80% cost reduction and 33% increase in power density are presented and conclusions are drawn about the potential for tension-based racking systems to further reduce total PV systems costs on commercial flat roof tops resulting in LCOE savings of $0.01-$0.02/kW h.

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Reducing solar PV soft costs: A focus on installation labor

Cited by 25 publications

References 3 publications

An analysis of residential PV system price differences between the United States and Germany

An analysis of residential PV system price differences between the United States and Germany

A State-Level Comparison of Processes and Timelines for Distributed Photovoltaic Interconnection in the United States

Total U.S. cost evaluation of low-weight tension-based photovoltaic flat-roof mounted racking

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