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Is it really cheaper? There are some economies of scale, but how much? Rooftop solar has zero land cost and low transmission costs.
by mikeash 8y ago
Is it really cheaper? There are some economies of scale, but how much? Rooftop solar has zero land cost and low transmission costs.
- thinkcontext 8y agoYes, over twice as cheap. According to NREL, residential is $2.80/watt vs $1.03/watt for utility scale. https://www.nrel.gov/news/press/2017/nrel-report-utility-scale-solar-pv-system-cost-fell-last-year.html https://www.nrel.gov/news/press/2017/nrel-report-utility-sca...
- mikeash 8y agoThat doesn’t seem to account for the two factors I mentioned, although I certainly wouldn’t expect them to make up that difference.
- 18pfsmt 8y agoI haven't read the NREL report, but my father was involved with them for 10 years as an investor. For utility scale, they can use thin-film panels which are more efficient, but more costly upfront (FirstSolar is the big player).