How do market analysts evaluate the cost of PV systems?

Market analysts routinely monitor and report the average cost of PV systems and components, but more detail is needed to understand the impact of recent and future technology developments on cost. Consequently, benchmark systems in the utility-scale, commercial, and residential PV market sectors are evaluated each year.

What is PVWatts ®?

It allows homeowners, small building owners, installers and manufacturers to easily develop estimates of the performance of potential PV installations. Operated by the Alliance for Sustainable Energy, LLC. PVWatts ® is a registered trademark by Alliance for Sustainable Energy, LLC in Golden, CO, 80401.

What is pvscm system cost?

The PVSCM system cost is the price paid by the system owner to the system developer. Any tax credit realized by the owner is excluded and must be considered separately. Tariffs paid on imported hardware are treated as temporary market distortions that increase MMP but not MSP.

How does Seto calculate PV system cost?

Unlike most PV cost studies that report values solely in dollars per watt, SETO’s PV system cost benchmark reports values using intrinsic units for each component. For example, the cost of a mounting structure is given in dollars per square meter of modules supported by that structure.

How does pvscm calculate tariffs & subsidies?

Tariffs and subsidies are noted in the spreadsheet’s comments column. PVSCM is implemented using an Excel spreadsheet. It collects the cost elements for each category, then sums the categories to obtain the system cost, for both MSP and MMP. Unit conversion multipliers are listed on a separate sheet labeled "Factors."