why are residential pv prices in germany so much lower than in

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Why Are Residential PV Prices in Germany So Much Lower Than in the United States? A Scoping Analysis Joachim Seel, Galen Barbose, and Ryan Wiser Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory February 2013 Revision (with Updated Data on Installation Labor Requirements) For offering comments and/or assistance, thanks to Kristen Ardani, Ted James, and Alan Goodrich (NREL), as well as Minh Le and Christina Nichols (U.S. DOE). This analysis was funded by the Solar Energy Technologies Program, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy of the U.S. Department of Energy under Contract No. DE-AC02-05CH11231.

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Why Are Residential PV Prices in Germany So Much Lower Than in the United States?

A Scoping Analysis

Joachim Seel, Galen Barbose, and Ryan Wiser Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

February 2013 Revision (with Updated Data on Installation Labor Requirements)

For offering comments and/or assistance, thanks to Kristen Ardani, Ted James, and Alan Goodrich (NREL), as well as Minh Le and Christina Nichols (U.S. DOE). This analysis was funded by the Solar Energy Technologies Program, Office of Energy

Efficiency and Renewable Energy of the U.S. Department of Energy under Contract No. DE-AC02-05CH11231.

Note for the February 2013 Revision

2

•  The original September 2012 briefing included the results of a survey of 24 German PV installers conducted in early 2012

•  One of the more surprising results was the extraordinarily low number of installation labor hours reported by survey respondents

•  LBNL conducted a follow-up survey of 41 German installers in October 2012, focused solely on installation labor requirements

•  The results of the follow-up survey are more in line with expectations (a mean response of 39 man-hours per system for on-site installation labor, compared to 7.5 hours per system in the original survey)

•  This revised briefing includes the results of this follow-up survey, as well as a limited number of other updates (including Q3 2012 data on system pricing and market size)

Table of Contents

•  Motivation, Scope, and Limitations •  Background and Existing Literature

–  Learning related to overall PV market size

•  German Survey Results –  Customer acquisition costs –  Installation labor costs –  Permitting, interconnection and inspection costs –  Sales taxes –  Other soft Balance of System (BoS) costs

•  Secondary Analysis –  Project development time –  Economies of scale in residential system size –  Chinese module market share

•  Summary •  Bibliography

3

Motivation, Scope, and Limitations

•  The installed price of residential PV is significantly lower in Germany than in the U.S., due primarily to differences in “soft” costs –  But relatively little is known about how/why soft cost components differ

•  In order to better characterize the nature of these differences, LBNL: –  Fielded two surveys of German PV installers, adapted from NREL’s survey of

U.S. installers, to collect data on residential PV soft costs –  Comprehensively reviewed public and private consultant data relevant to the

cost structure of residential PV in Germany •  Focus is the pre-incentive price paid for customer-owned systems

–  Residential PV in Germany is almost entirely customer-owned; substantial third-party ownership in U.S. but pricing sometimes impacted by appraised values

•  Analysis here is intended to be a “first cut” and serves to highlight specific areas where further research could reveal additional insights –  Survey focus was on quantifying differences in specific business process costs –  Additional research needed to confirm and characterize differences in more

detail, as well as to link observed differences to underlying market drivers

4

Germany’s 2011 Additions ~4x Greater, and Cumulative Additions More than 5x Greater, than United States

5 Data  Sources:    US:  IEA  and  GTM/SEIA;  Germany:  BNetzA  (Federal  Grid  Agency)  

24   32   48   67   94   108   149   210   338   473  918  

1900  1992  

53  110   110  

139   670  951   843  

1271  

1950  

3794  

7408   7485  

6227  

0  

5000  

10000  

15000  

20000  

25000  

30000  

35000  

0  

1000  

2000  

3000  

4000  

5000  

6000  

7000  

8000  

2000   2001   2002   2003   2004   2005   2006   2007   2008   2009   2010   2011   2012  Q1-­‐Q3  

Cumula&

ve  Add

i&on

 [MW]  

Annu

al  add

i&on

s  [MW]    

PV  capacity  addi&ons  (MW)  

Germany  cumulaOve   USA  cumulaOve   USA  annual  addiOons   Germany  annual  addiOons  

Annual Residential Installations in Germany 2.5x Greater (9.4x Greater on per Capita Basis) than in the United States

6

128   115  

268  297  

688  

761  

0  

100  

200  

300  

400  

500  

600  

700  

800  

2010   2011  

MW  

CA  USA  Germany  

3.4  3.0  

0.9   1.0  

8.5  

9.4  

0.0  

1.0  

2.0  

3.0  

4.0  

5.0  

6.0  

7.0  

8.0  

9.0  

10.0  

2010   2011  

W  /  cap

ita  

Annual  residen&al  PV  installa&ons  

Data  Sources:    US:  GTM/SEIA;  Germany:  BNetzA  (Federal  Grid  Agency)  

Cumulative Residential Installations in Germany 3.6x Greater (14x on per Capita Basis) than in United States

7

373   488  637  

934  

2731  

3420  

0  

500  

1000  

1500  

2000  

2500  

3000  

3500  

4000  

2010   2011  

MW  

CA  

USA  

Germany  

10  13  

2   3  

34  

42  

0  

5  

10  

15  

20  

25  

30  

35  

40  

45  

2010   2011  

W  /  cap

ita  

Cumula&ve  residen&al  PV  installa&ons  

Data  Sources:    US:  GTM/SEIA;  Germany:  BNetzA  (Federal  Grid  Agency)  

Varied Data Sources Are Available for U.S. and German PV System Pricing

•  LBNL Tracking the Sun (TTS): Installed prices for ~70% of PV capacity installed in the U.S. from 1998-2011

•  NREL Cost Modeling Team: Quarterly bottom-up installed price benchmarks based on interviews with installers and modeling

•  EuPD: Project-level price quotes collected through quarterly survey of German installers (since 2008); used for BSW price reports

•  Photon, other consultants: Installed price benchmarks based on interviews with installers or other market research

•  Miscellaneous: Schaeffer et al., 2004, “Learning from the Sun”; Haas, 2004, “Progress in Markets for Grid-Connected PV Systems in the Built Environment”; Credit Agency for Reconstruction (KfW); IEA National PVPS reports; Langen 2010

8

*  Note:  Focusing  on  systems  ≤10kW  serves  as  a  proxy  for  the  residenOal  market,  as  the  project-­‐level  installed  price  data  for  German  systems  used  for  this  figure  do  not  include  host  customer  type  

Residential PV System Prices Have Often Been Higher in the U.S. Than in Germany

Data  Sources:    U.S.  System  Prices  are  derived  from  LBNL’s  TTS  dataset  and  are  equal  to  the  median  of  customer-­‐owned  systems  ≤10kW  installed  in  each  year.    German  System  Prices  are  the  averages  of  individual  price  quotes  in  EuPD’s  dataset  (2008-­‐2011)  or  the  average  of  prices  reported  by  IEA,  Photon,  KfW,  and  Schaeffer    (2001-­‐2007).  Module  Factory-­‐Gate  Prices  are  the  average  of  prices  reported  by  IEA,  GTM,  IRENA,  Navigant,  and  Photon  (annual  currency  exchange  rates  were  used  for  module  prices  esOmates)  

9

6.91  6.21  

4.25  3.42  

1.81   1.35  

6.56  5.88  5.26  

0  

2  

4  

6  

8  

10  

12  

2001   2002   2003   2004   2005   2006   2007   2008   2009   2010   2011  

$2011/W  

Median  Installed  Price  of  Customer-­‐Owned  PV  Systems  ≤10  kW*  

US  system  prices  

German  system  prices  

module  factory-­‐gate  prices  

CA  

NJ  

AZ  

Data  Sources:  US:  TTS,  CSI  working  database  of  Dec  5th  2012;    Germany:  EuPD  and  BSW  

Installed Price Gap Was $2.8/W in Q4 2011 and Differential Continued Through 2012

10 *  Note:  German  system  prices  are  available  by  quote  date,  rather  than  by  installaOon  date.    However,  the  average  Ome  lag  between  price  quote  and  installaOon  date  is  much  shorter  in  Germany  than  in  the  US.,  as  described  further  within  the  secondary  analysis  

7.36  7.05  

6.80  6.50  

6.44   6.28   6.16   5.90  

4.38   4.32  4.20   4.09  

3.67   3.61  3.26   3.08  

2.87  2.62   2.51  

6.65   6.59   6.46  6.23   6.23  

5.87  5.52  

5.56  5.11  

2.00  

3.00  

4.00  

5.00  

6.00  

7.00  

8.00  

2010  Q1  

2010  Q2  

2010  Q3  

2010  Q4  

2011  Q1  

2011  Q2  

2011  Q3  

2011  Q4  

2012  Q1  

2012  Q2  

2012  Q3  

$2011/W  

Installa&on  Date*  

Median  Installed  Price  of  Customer-­‐Owned  PV  Systems  ≤10  kW  

US  system  prices  

German  system  prices  

CSI  system  prices  

NJ  

AZ  

0%  

5%  

10%  

15%  

20%  

25%  

30%  

35%  

40%  

Percen

t  of  systems  

$2011/W  

USA  

Germany  

Installed Prices in the U.S. Are Also Much More Varied Than in Germany

11

•  Some U.S. systems have reached German prices already

•  Greater variation in the U.S. indicative of greater market fragmentation across jurisdictions

Data  Sources:  US:  TTS;    Germany:  EuPD  

Frequency  Distribu&on:  Installed  Price  of  ≤10  kW  Customer-­‐Owned  Systems  Installed  in  2011  

*  Note:  German  data  come  from  a  quarterly  survey  of  system  price  quotes  from  roughly  100  installers,  and  are  thus  based  on  a  much  smaller  sample  than  the  US  data  and  may  not  reflect  the  full  extent  of  price  variability  in  the  German  market.  

Learning Curve Analyses of BoS Costs

•  Traditional PV learning curve analyses often focus on PV modules and relate global module production to module prices

•  Some business process costs (e.g., installation labor, customer acquisition) may also be subject to local learning effects

•  We compare the relative impact of local BoS learning in the U.S. and Germany based on implied non-module costs for <10 kW PV systems and cumulative national PV capacity installed

•  BoS progress ratios may help predict future U.S. price reductions that accompany larger market scale

12

Question: To what extent are lower BoS costs in Germany potentially due to larger overall market scale and associated learning-induced cost reductions?

Data  Sources:    See  slide  9.  

 

Differences in Market Size Alone May Explain Roughly Half of the Price Gap

13

Implied  Average  Annual  Non-­‐Module  Costs*  vs.  Cumula&ve  Capacity:  

Customer-­‐Owned  Systems  ≤10  kW,  2001-­‐2011  

•  Total non-module costs in 2011 were ~$2.8/W higher in the U.S. than in Germany

•  But, at the same cumulative capacity that the U.S. had installed at the end of 2011 (4 GW), non-module costs for residential PV in Germany were only $1.3/W less than in the U.S.

•  One might (crudely) infer that the remaining $1.5/W of the total gap in 2011 non-module costs may be due simply to the larger base of German experience

0  

1  

2  

3  

4  

5  

6  

7  

8  

9  

10  

100   1000   10000  

$2011/W  

cumula&ve  na&onal  PV  capacity  installed  [MW]  

USA   Germany  

2011  

2011  

$1.30  

$1.50  

*  Note:  Implied  average  annual  non-­‐module  cost  =                                    average  annual  system  price  minus  global  average  factory  gate  module  price  

Soft-Cost Learning for <10 kW Systems Occurs More Slowly in the U.S. and Is Less Effective

14

•  The development of non-module costs is less correlated with market growth in the US than in Germany (52% vs. 9% explained by other factors)

•  The learning rate for non-module costs (proxy for soft costs) is lower in the US than in Germany (7% vs. 15%)

Regression  variable  (2001-­‐2011)   United  States   Germany  

Global  level  cumulaOve  installaOons    

 (all  PV  systems,  not  just  

residenOal)  

Total  system  prices   PR:  91.7%,  R2:  0.90   PR:  82.1%,  R2:  0.92  

Non-­‐module  costs   PR:  94.2%,  R2:  0.48   PR:  79.7%,  R2:  0.95  

Country  level  cumulaOve  installaOons    

 (all  PV  systems,  not  just  

residenOal)  

Total  system  prices   PR:  90.4%,  R2:  0.92   PR:  86.9%,  R2:  0.83  

Non-­‐module  costs   PR:  93.3%,  R2:  0.48   PR:  84.6%,  R2:  0.91  

* Notes: PR is the Progress Ratio, defined as 2^(slope of line of best fit of log-log plot).    

Regular FiT Adjustments Pressure German Installers to Reduce Prices

15 Data  Sources:  EuPD  (2008-­‐2011),  BSW  (2012)  IEA,  KfW,  Photon  

•  BNEF (2012) indicates the presence of value-based pricing in both the US and Germany

•  Following this hypothesis, the iterative reduction of the FiT presses German installers to lower system prices to maintain attractive investments for their customers

•  Similar forces may operate less efficiently in the U.S., yielding higher “value-based” prices, even for customer-owned systems

0.00  

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0.50  

0.60  

0.70  

0.80  

0.90  

0  

2  

4  

6  

8  

10  

12  

14  

Jan-­‐04  

Jul-­‐0

4  

Jan-­‐05  

Jul-­‐0

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Jan-­‐06  

Jul-­‐0

6  

Jan-­‐07  

Jul-­‐0

7  

Jan-­‐08  

Jul-­‐0

8  

Jan-­‐09  

Jul-­‐0

9  

Jan-­‐10  

Jul-­‐1

0  

Jan-­‐11  

Jul-­‐1

1  

Jan-­‐12  

Jul-­‐1

2  

Jan-­‐13  

$  2011/kWh  

$2011  /W

 

German  FiT  and  system  prices    (<10kW  systems)  

FiT  $2011/W  @  860  kWh/kW*a   FiT  $2011/W  @  730  kWh/kW*a  

German  system  price  $/W   FiT  $2011/kWh  

Hypotheses Explored for Why German and U.S. Residential PV Prices Differ

•  General: –  Residential systems are larger in Germanyà yes –  US installers develop projects more slowly à yes

(semi-addressed) –  US installers have higher profit margins, after

recovering all overhead expenses à uncertain (semi-addressed)

•  Component costs: –  Hardware component costs are lower in

Germany à possibly true for inverters, but uncertain (semi-addressed)

–  US has a lower share of cheaper Chinese modules à no

•  Customer acquisition: –  US installers have higher customer acquisition

costs à yes –  US installers have lower customer success rates

à yes –  US installers have higher marketing and

advertising costs à yes

16

•  Installation labor: –  US installers need longer for the installation

process à yes –  US installers have higher wages à yes for

installation labor, no for other labor (semi-addressed)

•  Permitting, Interconnection and Inspection Costs –  US installers have higher labor hour

requirements for PII à yes –  US has higher permitting and interconnection

fees à yes

•  Taxes –  The US charges higher sales taxes on PV

systems than Germany à yes

Additional Hypotheses Not Explored Here •  Overhead costs

–  US has higher business overhead costs (e.g. insurance costs, material storage costs)

–  German installers have higher sales volume per year, spreading fixed costs over larger denominator and profiting from economies of scale, allowing for volume discounts

–  US installers have higher cost of capital for their own business operations

–  US installers face higher transaction costs associated with arranging financing for customers

–  US has a longer supply chain for PV modules and other hardware

•  Profit margins –  US has a lower degree of competition

among installers, maintaining higher profit margins

–  Value based pricing allows for higher prices in the US, given better irradiation, high retail rates in some regions, and more generous subsidies

17

•  Regulatory issues –  US requires each panel and rack component

to be grounded to the DC switchbox leading to higher material costs and installation labor hours

–  Germany has less onerous requirements for roof mounting structures

•  Installation timing –  US systems are installed more steadily

throughout the year, whereas German installations were traditionally concentrated at the end of the year when prices are lower, leading to lower annual average prices

•  Exchange rate dynamics are more beneficial for German system costs

A Small Body of Literature Explores the German-U.S. PV Price Gap •  Few have sought to explain the underlying reasons behind the German-U.S. PV price

gap or to quantify differences in specific soft costs –  Photon 2011a, Photon 2011b, BNEF 2012, Langen 2010, Podlowski 2008, Goodrich et al. 2012

•  Possible reasons for the price gap that have been postulated: –  “Value-based pricing” in the U.S. (e.g., associated with more generous subsidies and/or less competition

among installers) –  Preference for premium products in the U.S. –  Lower customer-acquisition costs in Germany due to simpler/more certain value proposition (FiT), critical

mass of demand, and economies of scale –  Lower installation labor costs in Germany due to greater experience and economies of scale –  Lower permitting costs in Germany due to fewer requirements and greater standardization –  Less onerous electrical requirements and interconnection processes in Germany

•  Our analysis complements that literature by: –  Deriving estimates for specific business process costs via two surveys of German residential installers –  Using large samples of system prices to compare price developments and distributions –  Estimating the impact of differences in project development times on reported prices –  Analyzing residential module market composition

•  Complements NREL cost modeling team’s in-depth interviews with installers

18

Survey  Results  

19  

LBNL Surveys of German PV Installers

•  Overview of survey approach (original and follow-up surveys)

•  Sample characterization

•  Survey respondents’ build-up of installed price

•  Individual business process costs (with comparisons to NREL survey of U.S. installers*) –  Customer acquisition costs –  Permitting, interconnection and inspection –  Installation labor costs

•  Sales/value-added tax for PV

20 *  Note  a  slight  temporal  misalignment,  as  the  NREL  survey  of  U.S.  installers  focused  on  2010  installaOons,  whereas  the  LBNL  surveys  of  German  installers  focused  primarily  on  2011/2012  installaOons.  

Overview of Initial Survey Approach

Germany    2011  

U.S.  2010*  

ResidenOal  installers   24   56  

ResidenOal  systems   2056   6038  

ResidenOal  capacity  [kW]   17,819   34,396  

21

•  German survey focuses on standard DOE soft cost categories:

•  Customer acquisition •  Permitting, interconnection, inspection •  Installation labor

•  Adapted from NREL survey of U.S. installers to allow comparisons

•  Average labor hours per system for PII and installation

•  Total annual expenditures on customer acquisition

Installer  Survey  Sample  

•  Survey fielded in early 2012 •  Respondents asked about costs of residential systems installed in 2011 •  Survey instrument, written in German, distributed by email to 300 German

residential installers and fielded online via www.photovoltaikstudie.de

*  Sample  sizes  shown  for  U.S.  2010  refer  to  analysis  by  Ardani  et  al.  2012  

Follow-Up Survey on German Installation Labor Hours

•  LBNL conducted a second survey of German installers in October 2012, focused solely on installation labor requirements

•  The survey asked 7 questions about German residential PV installations completed during the preceding 12 months.

•  Survey was fielded online (between October 9th and November 5th 2012) in German in collaboration with www.photovoltaikstudie.de

22

German  Survey  2012  

ResidenOal  installers   41  

ResidenOal  systems   1842  

ResidenOal  capacity  [kW]   11,924  

•  Participation requests were also sent to previous German soft-BoS survey respondents, a list of 300 German residential PV installers and a range of industry experts for further distribution.

NotaOon  for  Referencing  German  Surveys  throughout  Remainder  of  Analysis:    Original  German  BoS  survey  on  systems  installed  in  2011                                                        à  “German  Survey  2011”    Follow-­‐up  German  labor  survey  on  systems  installed  Oct.  2011-­‐Sept.  2012        à  “German  Survey  2012”  

Raw Sample Characterization

•  Most respondents in both surveys are small volume installers –  Most installed <50 systems per

12-month period –  Median installations/yr = 25 for

2011, 26 for 2012

•  Average system sizes are a bit smaller in 2012 German survey –  Average of 6 kW per system

(compared to 8 kW in German 2011 survey*)

–  Less variation in average system size

23

6  10  

3   2   3  9  

22  

5   2   3  0  

5  

10  

15  

20  

25  

<9   10-­‐49   50-­‐99   100-­‐199   >200  

Num

ber  o

f  Respo

nden

ts  

Number  of  Residen&al  Systems  Installed  per  Year  

Number  of  Res.  Systems/Yr.  Installed  

German  Survey  2011  

German  Survey  2012  

4  8   7   3   2  3  

26  

10  2   0  

0  

5  

10  

15  

20  

25  

30  

<4   4-­‐8   8-­‐12   12-­‐16   >16  

Num

ber  o

f  Respo

nden

ts  

Average  Size  of  Residen&al  Systems  Installed  [kWp]  

Average  Residen&al  System  Size  German  survey  2011  

German  survey  2012  

Total Soft BoS Costs + Profit Represent Roughly $0.62/W or 20% of System Price

24

*  Notes:  Survey  results    are  summarized   in  terms  of   the  average  of   responses  across  survey  respondents,  weighted  by  each  respondent’s  reported  2011  residenOal  capacity  installed.    This  chart  summarizes  responses  to  the  survey  quesOon  asking   installers  to   idenOfy  the  average  price  of  residenOal  systems  sold   in  2011,  and  to  allocate  that  price  across  the  categories  idenOfied  along  the  x-­‐axis.  Due  to  the  revised  installaOon  labor  cost  esOmates  based  on  the  second  survey,  there   is   a   slight  misalignment   between   the   category   “other   project   costs”   and   the   sum,   reported   later,   of   PII,   direct  customer  acquisiOon  cost  and  labor  installaOon  costs.    

Residen&al  PV  System  Price  Build-­‐Up  Reported  by  German  Installers    (Averages*  and  25th/75th  PercenOles  for  Systems  Installed  in  2011  )  

1.82  

0.33  0.23  

0.18  0.15  

0.28  

3.44  

3.05  2.70  

0.0  

0.5  

1.0  

1.5  

2.0  

2.5  

3.0  

3.5  

module   inverter   other  hardware  

other  project  cost  

other  non-­‐project  cost  

net  profit   other  system  price  

esOmates  

$  2011/W

 

EuPD  2011  

Photon  2011  

BNEF  Q4  2011  

Reported  Average  System  Price  by  24  Installers:  $3.00/W  

Includes  installaOon  

labor  cost,  PII,    direct  

customer  acquisiOon    

Includes  overhead,  

cost  of  failed  bids,  general  adverOsing  

Excludes  overhead  costs  

Survey Responses Are Generally Consistent with Estimates Reported Elsewhere

25

Comparison  of  Survey  Responses  to  Other  Es&mates  for  Residen&al  PV  in  Germany    

     Note:  “Other  Overhead”  is  the  sum  of  customer  acquisiOon  costs,  PII  and  addiOonal  overhead.      “Total  Sow  BoS”  is  the  sum  of  customer  acquisiOon  costs,  installaOon  labor,  PII,  overhead,  and  profit  

1.82  

0.33   0.23   0.23   0.11   0.28  0.62  

0.00  

0.50  

1.00  

1.50  

2.00  

2.50  

Module   Inverter   Other  Hardware   InstallaOon  Labor  

Other  Overhead   Profit   Total  Sow  BoS  

$2011/W  

Survey  

EuPD  low  

EuPD  high  

BNEF  Q4  2011  

PHOTON  Q2  2011  small  commercial  

Soft Costs for Residential PV in Germany Are ~$2.7/W Lower Than in the U.S.

26

Total soft costs for residential PV in Germany, including margin, are just 19% of the implied soft costs for U.S. residential PV ($0.62/W vs. $3.34/W)

1.83   1.82  

0.55   0.33  

0.47  0.23  

3.34  

0.62  

0.00  

1.00  

2.00  

3.00  

4.00  

5.00  

6.00  

7.00  

USA  2011   Germany  2011  

$  2011  /  W

  sow  BoS  +  profit  

other  hardware  

inverter  

module  

$3.00  

$6.19  

Implied  sow-­‐BoS  +  profit    (residual  of  TTS  system  prices  and  hardware  costs)  

GTM/SEIA*  

NREL  cost  modeling  H2  2011  

LBNL  TTS:  ResidenOal  systems  of  any  size,  excluding  3rd  party  owned  systems    

*  Note:  US  module  and  inverter  prices  are  based  on  average  factory  gate  prices  for  Q4  2010-­‐Q3  2011  as  reported  by  GTM/SEIA  with  an  adder  of  10%  to  account  for  supply  chain  costs.  Inverter  efficiency  assumed  to  be  85%.  

Labor Rates Are Higher in Germany Than in the U.S. for Some Functions, but Lower for Others

27

•  The results that follow this slide rely on German wage rates derived from the survey •  In the above graphic, data from the German statistical agency (DeStatis) are also

shown for comparison (these data cover all sectors, so are not specific to PV) •  U.S. labor rates are from RS Means (as used by NREL cost modeling team and as

used in NREL BoS survey analysis for the U.S.)

62  

42  35  

32  

20  

48  

38  47  

53  

42  

28  21  

53  

23  32  

0  

10  

20  

30  

40  

50  

60  

70  

electrician  installaOon  labor  

non-­‐electrician  installaOon  labor  

system  design  engineer   sales  representaOve   administraOve  labor  

$  2011  /h  

Fully  burdened  wages  at  PV  installa&on  companies  [$/h]  

USA   German  survey  2011   German  StaOsOcal  Agency  2010  

Residential Customer Acquisition Costs Average $0.07/W in Germany

28

•  Most respondents reported customer acquisition costs <$0.15/W; several small-volume installers reported somewhat higher costs

•  On average, customer acquisition labor includes 3 hrs/system for sales representative and 2 hrs/system for design engineer

0.04  

0.02  

0.01  

$0.00  

$0.01  

$0.02  

$0.03  

$0.04  

$0.05  

$0.06  

$0.07  

$0.08  

Germany  2011  

$2011/W  

System  Design  

MarkeOng  and  AdverOsing  

Other  Customer  AcquisiOon  

$.07  

Average  Customer  Acquisi&on  Costs  Across  Installers  

$0.0  

$0.1  

$0.2  

$0.3  

$0.4  

$0.5  

$0.6  

$0.7  

$0.8  

0   100   200   300   400   500   600  

$2011/W  

Total  ResidenOal  InstallaOons  (#)  

Average  Customer  Acquisi&on  Costs  for  Each  Installer  

Notes:  Other  Customer  AcquisiOon  costs  include  such  items  as:  sales  calls,  site  visits,  travel  Ome  to  and  from  the  site,  contract  negoOaOon,  bid  preparaOon.  MarkeOng  &  AdverOsing  and  Other  Customer  AcquisiOon  costs  are  based  on  reported  annual  expenditures,  while  System  Design  costs  are  based  on  reported  labor  hours  and  wages  for  system  design  engineering.  

Customer Acquisition Costs in Germany Are $0.6/W Less Than in the U.S.

29

•  Mean bid success rate is slightly lower in the US (30% in US vs. 40% in Germany)

•  German installers leverage partnerships with equipment manufacturers

•  Langen (2010) points to simpler and more certain value proposition in Germany (i.e., FiT), installer learning, and critical mass for word of mouth

Note:  Bar  chart  of  U.S.  process  costs  are  derived  from  NREL  survey  of  U.S.  installers  (Ardani  et  al.  2012).  

0.24  

0.04  

0.34  

0.02  

0.11  

0.85  

1.1  

0.4  

$0.00  

$0.20  

$0.40  

$0.60  

$0.80  

$1.00  

$1.20  

USA  2010   Germany  2011  

$2011/W  

Average  Customer  Acquisi&on  Costs  

System  Design  

Non-­‐project  specific  MarkeOng  &  AdverOsing  

Other  project-­‐specific  Customer  AcquisiOon  

Woodlawn  Associates  2012  

Langen  2010  

$0.69  

$0.07  

PII Costs Are Negligible for Residential PV in Germany •  Total PII costs of $0.03/W on average •  Fewer than 10 hours of labor required for all PII activities, and no fee

–  Average labor requirement of 5 hrs (confirmed by PV legal survey, lowest for all European countries)

–  Permit requests and incentive application are done online; usually no permit inspection required •  Grid upgrade costs for German residential PV systems are paid by Grid Operator (SEPA 2012)

0  1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  10  

0   100   200   300   400   500   600  

Total  lab

or  hou

rs/install  

Residen&al  PV  systems  installed  in  2011  (#)  

Total  PII  Labor  Hours    Per  Respondent  

0.01  

0.001  0.001  

0.02  

0.00  

$0.00  

$0.01  

$0.02  

$0.03  

$0.04  

Germany  2011  

$2011/W  

Permit  Fee  

IncenOve  ApplicaOon  

CompleOng  InterconnecOon  

CompleOng  Permit  InspecOon  

Submi|ng  Permit  Package  

Preparing  Permit  Package  

$0.03  

Average  PII  Costs  

30

8.5  

1.7  

3.2  

0.3  

4.3  

0.2  

2.9  

3.0  

3.7  

0.06  

0.01  

0.03  

0.00  

0.03  

0.00  

0.01  

0.02  

0.02  

0.00  

0.09  

0.00  

 CPF  (2012)    Only  permi|ng  labor  Ome    14.5h  

SunRun  (2011)  $.28/W  

 CPF  (2012)    Only  permi|ng  labor  costs  

(excluding  fee)      $.11/W  

0.00  

0.05  

0.10  

0.15  

0.20  

0.25  

0.30  

0  

5  

10  

15  

20  

25  

USA  2010  [h/system]  

Germany  2011  [h/system]  

USA  2010  [$/W]   Germany  2011  [$/W]  

$2011/W  h/system   PII  requirements  

Permit  Fee  

IncenOve  ApplicaOon  

CompleOng  InterconnecOon  

CompleOng  Permit  InspecOon  

Submi|ng  Permit  Package  

Preparing  Permit  Package  

$.24/W  

$.03/W  

22.6h  

5.2h  

PV  Grid  (2012)    4.7h  

PII Costs Account for Roughly $0.2/W of the German-U.S. PV Price Gap

Differences due to both PII labor costs and permit fee •  PII labor costs are $0.12/W lower in

Germany* •  Remainder of gap ($0.09/W) is

associated with permit fee (assuming an average of $430 per system in the U.S.)

•  Langen (2010) estimates PII costs for the US at $.80/W, and Germany at $.10/W

•  PV Grid (2012) reports 2.5h for interconnection, 1.5h for interconnection permits and .7h for other legal-administrative processes in Germany

•  SunRun (2011) estimate of $.50/W in the U.S. includes sales & marketing costs & variations in building requirements

31 *  Note:  Fully-­‐burdened  labor  rates  assumpOons:  70%  design  engineer  and  30%  administraOve  labor;  averaging  $41/hr  for  Germany  (based  on  survey  quesOons)  vs.  $26/hr  for  the  U.S.  (based  on  RS  Means  data)  

Installation Labor Costs in Germany Average $0.23/W

32

•  German follow-up survey shows higher labor hours than original survey, more in line with expectations: –  Mean installation labor = 39 man-hours/system (vs. 7.5 hours in original survey) –  Responses generally ranged from 25-50 hours/system –  Respondents to original survey likely misinterpreted the question (i.e., confusion

between hours-on-site vs. man-hours)

•  No obvious economies of scale with respect to installer annual sales volume

0  

10  

20  

30  

40  

50  

60  

70  

80  

0   50   100   150   200   250  

Installa&o

n  Labo

r    (h/system)  

Residen&al  Installa&ons  in  per  year  (#)  

Installa&on  Labor  vs.  Systems/Yr  (by  installer)  

9  

30  

0.06  

0.17  

0.00  

0.05  

0.10  

0.15  

0.20  

0.25  

0  5  

10  15  20  25  30  35  40  45  

labor  Ome    labor  cost  

$2011/W  

h/system

 

German  Installa&on  Labor  Time  and  Cost  electrician   non-­‐electrician  

$0.23  39h  

German Installations Are Faster and Cheaper than in the United States

•  Updated survey results show a sizable gap between the United States and Germany in installation times (36h)

•  Installers in Germany rely even more on (cheaper) non-electrician installation labor than in the US (77% vs. 65%)

33

26  

9  

49  

30  0.26  

0.06  

0.33  

0.17  

BNEF    (2012)  24h  

PV  Grid    (2012)  26h  

EuPD    (2012)  

 $0.42/W  

0  

0.1  

0.2  

0.3  

0.4  

0.5  

0.6  

0.7  

0  

10  

20  

30  

40  

50  

60  

70  

80  

USA  2010  [h/system]  

Germany  2011  [h/system]  

USA  2010  [$/W]   Germany  2011  [$/W]  

$2011/W  

h/system

 

Installa&on  Labor  electrician  installaOon  labor   non-­‐electrician  installaOon  labor  

$0.59  

75h  

39h  

$0.23  

Differences in Installation Labor Partly Stem from Different Mounting Practices

•  Large majority of German installers either never or rarely install systems requiring roof-penetration

•  Roof penetration is much more common in the United States, due to differences in roofing materials and higher wind speeds in some regions

•  Follow-up survey also asked about the usage of roof-to-inverter conduits for wiring and about the location of grounding for German residential PV

–  But no clear trend that might explain differences in labor requirements compared to U.S. systems

34

0%  

10%  

20%  

30%  

40%  

50%  

60%  

70%  

80%  

90%  

100%  

0   5   10   15   20   25   30   35   40   45  installer  ID  

German  Installers:  Percentage  of  systems  per  installer  requiring  rooiop  penetra&on    

Nationwide Sales Tax Exemptions in Germany Further Reduce Soft Costs •  Survey respondents confirmed that German residential PV systems are

effectively exempt from revenue taxes/ sales taxes/ value added taxes –  Regular tax rate of 19% can be exempted either via “Kleinunternehmer”

or “Vorsteuererstattungs” clause

35

•  In the United States, 23 states assess sales tax on residential PV systems, usually 4-8% of system prices, as do many local governments

•  Given the spatial distribution of PV systems, and accounting for sales tax exemptions in some states, state and local sales taxes added $0.21/W to the median price of US residential PV in 2011

PII, Customer Acquisition, and Installation Labor Total Just $0.33/W for Residential PV in Germany

For residential PV in Germany, PII, customer acquisition, and installation labor are estimated to represent 53% of all non-hardware costs and 11% of the total system price.

36

Hardware:  $2.38/W  

Non-­‐  Hardware:  $0.62/W  

$0.23  

$0.07  

$0.03  

$0.29  

0%  

10%  

20%  

30%  

40%  

50%  

60%  

70%  

80%  

90%  

100%  

overhead,  profit  and  other  residual  sow  costs  

sales  tax  ($0)  

permi|ng  fee  ($0)  

PII  labor  cost  

customer  acquisiOon  and  system  design  

installaOon  labor  

Notes:  “Overhead,  profit,  and  other  residual  sow  costs”  is  calculated  as  the  difference  between  total  sow  costs  and  the  sum  of  the  individual  business  process  costs  quanOfied  through  the  German  and  U.S.  installer  surveys.    This  residual  term  includes  such  items  as  property-­‐related  expenses  (rent,  uOliOes,  etc.),  inventory-­‐related  costs,  addiOonal  insurances  and  fees,  and  general  administraOve  costs.  Our  esOmate  of  $1.61/W  for  “overhead,  profit  and  residual  sow  costs”  is  generally  consistent  with  the  findings  of  CPF  (2012).  Research  by  Woodlawn  Associates  (2012)  suggests  that  profit  margins  for  many  U.S.  installers  are  low  or  non-­‐existent,  implying  that  the  differences  shown  for  the  “overhead,  profit,  and  other  residual  sow  costs”  category  is  not  the  result  of  much  higher  profit  margins  in  the  U.S.  

Summary of Soft Cost Differences for Residential PV in the U.S. and Germany

37

Comparison of Soft Costs for Residential PV in Germany and the U.S. (customer-owned systems)

0.34  

0.11  0.24  

0.15  0.09  

0.59  

0.21  

1.61  

0.02   0.01   0.04   0.03   0.00  

0.23  

0.00  

0.29  

0  

0.2  

0.4  

0.6  

0.8  

1  

1.2  

1.4  

1.6  

1.8  

customer  acquisOon:  markeOng  +  

adverOsement  

customer  acquisiOon:  

system  design  

customer  acquisiOon:  other  

PII  labor  cost   permi|ng  fee   installaOon  labor   sales  tax   overhead,  profit,  and  other  

residual  sow  costs  

$  2011  /  W

 

USA   Germany  

0.01  0.22   0.24  

0.36  0.62  

0.12   0.09   0.21  

1.32  

3.00  

0.00  

1.00  

2.00  

3.00  

4.00  

5.00  

6.00  

7.00  

German  system  

module   inverter   other  hardware  

installaOon  labor  

customer  acquisiOon  and  system  design  

PII   permi|ng  fee   sales  tax   overhead,  profit  and  

other  residual  costs  

$  2011/W

 

Summary of Soft Cost Differences for Residential PV in the U.S. and Germany

Cost  difference  of  $3.19/

W  

Build-Up of Cost Differential Between German and U.S. Residential PV (customer-owned systems)

Notes:  “Overhead,  profit,  and  other  residual  sow  costs”  is  calculated  as  the  difference  between  total  sow  costs  and  the  sum  of  the  individual  business  process  costs  quanOfied  through  the  German  and  U.S.  installer  surveys.    This  residual  term  includes  such  items  as  property-­‐related  expenses  (rent,  uOliOes,  etc.),  inventory-­‐related  costs,  addiOonal  insurances  and  fees,  and  general  administraOve  costs.  Our  esOmate  of  $1.61/W  for  “overhead,  profit  and  residual  sow  costs”  is  generally  consistent  with  the  findings  of  CPF  (2012).  Research  by  Woodlawn  Associates  (2012)  suggests  that  profit  margins  for  many  U.S.  installers  are  low  or  non-­‐existent,  implying  that  the  differences  shown  for  the  “overhead,  profit,  and  other  residual  sow  costs”  category  is  not  the  result  of  much  higher  profit  margins  in  the  U.S.   38

Secondary  Analyses  

39  

Questions Explored through Secondary Data Sources

1.  To what extent do shorter project development times in Germany contribute to the apparent price gap (i.e., quicker pass-through of module price declines)?

2.  Are residential PV systems larger in Germany, leading to potential price differences due to economies of scale at the system level?

3.  Are a larger percentage of German systems comprised of Chinese modules than in the U.S.?

40 Notes:  Item  2  adds  not  to  the  differences  in  business  process  costs  presented  previously,  but  helps  explaining  those  differences  (e.g.  larger  system  sizes  in  Germany  partly  explain  why  markeOng  costs  in  $/W  are  lower).  

Longer U.S. Project Development Time Contributes to Apparent Price Gap

41

• Based on TTS data and German survey responses, residential projects take 126 days to develop in the U.S. vs. 35 days in Germany

• When comparing German and U.S. system prices based on installation date, some of the difference is due to the longer development time in the U.S., i.e., German system pricing is effectively “shifted” one quarter relative to the U.S.

• In Q4 2011, this effect contributes ~$0.18/W ($3.26 minus $3.08) to the apparent price gap

• Larger or smaller impacts in other quarters, depending on speed of price declines

7.36  7.05  

6.80  6.50   6.44   6.28   6.16  

5.90  

7.05  6.80  

6.50   6.44   6.28   6.16  5.90  

4.38   4.32  4.20   4.09  

3.67   3.61  3.26   3.08  

2.50  

3.50  

4.50  

5.50  

6.50  

7.50  

8.50  

2010  Q1  

2010  Q2  

2010  Q3  

2010  Q4  

2011  Q1  

2011  Q2  

2011  Q3  

2011  Q4  

$2011/W  

Median  PV  prices  for  systems  ≤10  kW  

USA  compleOon  

USA  applicaOon  

Germany  

German Residential Systems Are Generally Larger Than U.S. Systems

42 Notes:  US  data  based  on  TTS;  German  data  reflects  all  grid-­‐connected  PV  systems  (in  front  +  behind  the  meter)    as  collected  by  the  Federal  Grid  Agency  (Bundesnetzagentur,  BNetzA)  

0%  

5%  

10%  

15%  

20%  

0-­‐1kW   1-­‐2kW   2-­‐3kW   3-­‐4kW   4-­‐5kW   5-­‐6kW   6-­‐7kW   7-­‐8kW   8-­‐9kW   9-­‐10kW  

Percen

t  of  S

ystems  

Size  Distribu&on  of  PV  Systems  ≤10kW  Installed  in  2011  

USA   Germany  

US  median:  4.95kW  

German  median:  6.8kW  

If the Size Distribution of U.S. Residential Systems Were the Same as in Germany, Median Prices Would Be $0.15/W Lower

43

6.94  6.52  

6.25  5.97   5.84   5.82   5.71   5.81  

2.50  3.00  3.50  4.00  4.50  5.00  5.50  6.00  6.50  7.00  7.50  

$2011/W  

Median  PV  prices  for  U.S.  systems  ≤10  kW  in  2011  

                       2-­‐3kW                3-­‐4kW                4-­‐5kW              5-­‐6kW              6-­‐7kW                7-­‐8kW              8-­‐9kW              9-­‐10kW                          n=3791              n=3635            n=4040            n=4002          n=2719          n=2160            n=1704            n=1619  

• Applying the price distribution shown here for U.S. systems to the system size distribution for German systems (shown on the previous slide) yields a median system price that is $0.15/W lower than the actual median price for the 2011 U.S. systems in the TTS data sample ($6.21/W)

Installer Purchase Prices for Chinese Modules Are Lower than for Non-Chinese Modules in Germany

Data  source:  EuPD  

0.00  

0.50  

1.00  

1.50  

2.00  

2.50  

3.00  

Q1  2010   Q2  2010   Q3  2010   Q4  2010   Q1  2011   Q2  2011   Q3  2011   Q4  2011  

$  2011/W

 

Module  purchase  price  for  German  installers  

Chinese  modules   non-­‐Chinese  modules  

44

The Price Gap Is Not Due to Differences in Chinese Module Market Share

45

Share of module manufacturers by country of headquarters for customer-owned ≤10kW systems in 2011

25%  

24%  22%  

20%  

8%  

USA  n=20,761  

China+Taiwan  

USA  

Japan  

Germany  

Rest  of  the  World  

53%  

27%  

6%  

5%  

9%  

Germany  n=3,041  

Chinese modules are cheaper ($1.61/W vs. $2.01/W in 2011), but…

Among customer owned systems ≤10 kW, the U.S. and Germany had similar shares of Chinese modules*

Thus differences in Chinese module market share do not contribute significantly to the German-U.S. price gap.

Data  Sources:  TTS,  EuPD      

Note:  Third-­‐party  owned  systems  in  the  U.S.  have  a  higher  share  of  Chinese  modules  (e.g.  BNEF  2012),  but  for  the  purpose  of  assessing  the  price  gap  in  this  analysis,  we  focus  specifically  on  customer-­‐owned  systems.    

Summary of Findings from Survey of German Installers •  Total non-hardware costs for residential PV in Germany are ~$2.70/W lower

than in the U.S. •  Customer acquisition costs average just $0.07/W in Germany, or roughly

$0.62/W lower than in the U.S.

•  Installation labor requirements reportedly average 39 hours for German systems, leading to $0.36/W lower costs than in the U.S.

•  PII processes require 5 hours of labor, on average, in Germany, with no permitting fee, resulting in PII costs roughly $0.21/W lower than in the U.S.

•  German residential systems are exempt from sales/value-added tax, while U.S. systems are subject to an average sales tax of roughly $0.21/W (accounting for sales tax exemptions in many U.S. states)

•  The remaining gap in soft costs between Germany in the U.S. (~$1.32/W) is associated with overhead, profit, and other residual soft costs not captured in the categories above

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Summary of Findings from Secondary Analysis

•  Shorter project development times in Germany contribute to apparent price gap (e.g., ~$0.2/W effect for Q4 2011 installations)

•  Residential PV systems are larger in Germany (partly due to differences in policy design), benefitting from economies of scale ($0.15/W effect) •  Not additive to the differences in soft costs presented previously, but rather

helps to explain those differences (e.g. larger system sizes in Germany are partly why marketing costs, on a per Watt basis, are lower)

•  Market share of Chinese modules is similar for customer-owned residential systems in Germany and U.S., and thus does not contribute to price gap

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Possible Market Drivers for Soft Cost Differential between Germany and U.S. (1) •  Greater market-wide deployment and longevity in Germany

allow for cost reductions based on installer experience

•  Lower market fragmentation (one contiguous market and regulatory framework) and higher population density in Germany allow for lower overhead, transport, and supply chain costs. –  In the US, at least 50 markets exist – many more when considering local

permitting-inspection-interconnection rules.

•  Larger and more concentrated markets in Germany (as well as cultural differences with the US) facilitate bandwagon effects and customer acquisition by word of mouth, leading to lower customer acquisition costs

- 48 -

•  Less onerous permitting-inspection-interconnection processes (e.g. online registration, no permitting fee or inspection by county officials) and installation practices (e.g. easier grounding, roof penetration) in Germany

•  Simpler, more certain and more lasting value proposition in Germany allow for both lower customer acquisition + overhead costs, and larger average system sizes –  FiT guaranteed for 20 years in Germany vs. varying value of net metering +

state incentives + federal tax incentives in the US

•  Regular declining FiT and high competition among installers yield pressure for price reductions and lower margins in Germany, while larger incentives, opportunities for higher value-based pricing, and less installer competition allow for higher prices and margins in US

- 49 -

Possible Market Drivers for Soft Cost Differential between Germany and U.S. (2)

Policy Implications

A  large  and  durable  market  size  

A  concentrated  market    minimize  fragmenta&on  

A  simple,  transparent,  certain  incen&ve  structure  /  value  proposi&on  

Simple  interconnec&on,  permijng,  and  inspec&on  requirements  

Regular  incen&ve  declines  to  drive  &  follow  cost  reduc&on  

- 50 -

Reducing residential PV prices in the United States may require policies that enable:

Suggestions for Further Research

•  Initiate a more refined analysis of overhead costs and margins among installers

•  Better understand the pricing decision of installers and competition between installers (i.e., degree of “value-based pricing”)

•  Further investigate installation practices and differing regulatory requirements (usage of grounding, roof-penetration and conduits)

•  Compare supply-chain margins between the two countries and average prices paid by installers for modules and inverters

•  Assess the role of FIT policies in Germany in stimulating price reductions and potential implications for U.S. solar policy

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Questions?

Download LBNL Electricity Markets & Policy Publications: http://emp.lbl.gov/reports

Joachim Seel, Galen Barbose, Ryan Wiser [email protected] [email protected] [email protected]

First  German  prices  were  normalizes  for  2011  €,  which  were  then  converted  to  $  using  the  average  exchange  rate  of  the  year  2011  of  $1.39/€.    The  average  exchange  rate  in  2012  was  $1.29/€,  an  expression  of  German  system  prices  in  $2012  using  the  2012  average  exchange  rate  would  thus  be  about  7%  lower  than  the  prices  expressed  in  $2011.  

Appendix: Currency Conversion

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0.9  

1  

1.1  

1.2  

1.3  

1.4  

1.5  

1.6  

1.7  

2000  

2001  

2002  

2003  

2004  

2005  

2006  

2007  

2008  

2009  

2010  

2011  

2012  

Infla&on  and  Exchange  rate  factors  

German  inflaOon  +  2011  x-­‐rate   variable  x-­‐rate  and  US  inflaOon   US  inflaOon  factor   German  inflaOon  factor  

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