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Interesting: > The continued decline in total installed cost is noteworthy considering the fact that the price of the solar panels (or modules) themselves has

Interesting: > The continued decline in total installed cost is noteworthy considering the fact that the price of the solar panels (or modules) themselves has remained relatively flat since 2012. This means that the decline in installed cost observed since 2012 was largely caused by a decline in the cost of the inverters that convert the DC power produced by solar panels to AC power for the grid and other “soft” costs such as customer acquisition, system design, installation, and permitting.

nnain 10y ago
That's right. A friend, here in India is making a decent income by selling accessories - connectors, wire(sun/heat resistant), batteries etc. Importing Solar panels in India or manufacturing is still with the bigger players. But accessories is easy to get in. Also companies providing installation services aren't all that profitable, because cost of labour is cheap here and the margins are low. In installation you're basically only playing in the 15-20%% of a crowded market. But if you consider the over manufacturing capacity of China, accessories import/export/manufacturing remains a lucrative segment of the business.
nnain 10y ago
That's right. A friend, here in India is making a decent income by selling accessories - connectors, wire(sun/heat resistant), batteries etc. Importing Solar panels in India or manufacturing is still with the bigger players. But accessories is easy to get in. Also companies providing installation services aren't all that profitable, because cost of labour is cheap here and the margins are low. In installation you're basically only playing in the 15-20%% of a crowded market. But if you consider the over manufacturing capacity of China, accessories import/export/manufacturing remains a lucrative segment of the business.
allendoerfer 10y ago
Consolidation.
deleted 10y ago
[deleted]
jandrese 10y ago
I'd believe it. I priced out a solar install a few years ago and they were straight up ripping you off on the inverter and the install costs. There was a lot of room for movement in that area.

nnain 10y ago

That's right. A friend, here in India is making a decent income by selling accessories - connectors, wire(sun/heat resistant), batteries etc. Importing Solar panels in India or manufacturing is still with the bigger players. But accessories is easy to get in. Also companies providing installation services aren't all that profitable, because cost of labour is cheap here and the margins are low. In installation you're basically only playing in the 15-20%% of a crowded market. But if you consider the over manufacturing capacity of China, accessories import/export/manufacturing remains a lucrative segment of the business.

nnain 10y ago

allendoerfer 10y ago

Consolidation.

deleted 10y ago

[deleted]

jandrese 10y ago

I'd believe it. I priced out a solar install a few years ago and they were straight up ripping you off on the inverter and the install costs. There was a lot of room for movement in that area.