Residential solar prices in the US are hovering at historic lows

By pv magazine USA

Prices for residential solar installations are hovering around an all-time low, according to market platform EnergySage in its upcoming Marketplace Report.

Average prices on the EnergySage platform were $2.69 per watt for the first half of 2024, down 4% from the second half of 2023. This is just 1% higher than the all-time low of $2.67 per watt watts in the first half of 2021. when US residential solar experienced one of the largest growth cycles in history.

EnergySage operates a Solar Calculator allowing solar consumers to determine the potential benefits of solar energy for their home.

This marks the second consecutive six-month period of declining costs, following 2.5 years of cost increases amid pandemic-related supply chain restrictions, EnergySage said.

“Stable supply and cooling demand due to policy changes such as California’s net bill rate and high interest rates are likely the drivers of the latest price reductions,” the report said.

The report notes that customers nationwide are increasingly opting for battery energy storage for their solar projects. The percentage of storage confirmations has tripled year over year to 34% of solar projects nationwide in the first half of 2024.

Storage prices reached an all-time low of $1,133 per kWh. Combined with changes to net metering and more weather-related outages, the price drop will likely drive more customers to adopt storage than ever before, EnergySage said.