6 ms·

Rooftop solar costs 2x+ as much as utility scale.

• agumonkey 7y ago
  Any hope of seeing costs go down ?
  • mikepurvis 7y ago
    Probably not. Most of that cost is having a professional sort out the specifics of your particular installation, plus paying the dudes to scramble around on your roof and actually do the work (plus the associated liability). And even once it's all done, you take an efficiency hit because no one's roof will be at the ideal angle the way panels installed at ground level can be.
    • cesarb 7y ago
      > And even once it's all done, you take an efficiency hit because no one's roof will be at the ideal angle the way panels installed at ground level can be. Also, a lot of ground level panels are on single-axis trackers, at least in my country, which boosts efficiency even more.
      • mikepurvis 7y ago
        A farm is also likely to be better about maintenance, keeping the panels clear and free of debris.
  • thinkcontext 7y ago
    Sure, costs will come down. Soft costs like permitting and marketing are high in the US compared to Europe and Australia, there's room there. The biggest way to cut costs would be to design solar into houses when they are built rather than retrofit them afterwards. In California with the solar mandate for new construction we should see both of those costs go way down. But it will always be more expensive because of efficiency that goes with scale.