Soft Costs Make a Bigger Difference as Solar Gets Cheap

Date: 29 Apr 2013 | posted in: Energy, Energy Self Reliant States | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

placeholderLast week’s graphic on the impact of local permitting on the cost of solar power was a big hit, so here’s a follow up on “soft costs,” the expenses in a solar installation (including permitting) that are not the solar module.  The chart compares the soft costs in the U.S. to Germany (thanks to LBNL’s analysis), where these cost are much lower.  The soft costs reductions attributable to the much larger solar market in Germany have already been accounted for and the chart shows those that are the result of other factors.

Lowering Soft Costs Means Big Solar Savings

 

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John Farrell

John Farrell directs the Energy Democracy initiative at the Institute for Local Self-Reliance and he develops tools that allow communities to take charge of their energy future, and pursue the maximum economic benefits of the transition to 100% renewable power.