SAN DIEGO, Oct. 5, 2017 — While residential solar has continued to grow across the US, California has maintained its position as the largest home solar market in the United States. Despite increasing adoption, the market for home solar remains confusing to many homeowners, especially when it comes to system pricing.
To help shine light on regional solar pricing across the state, Solar to the People has released its second annual study on the regional cost of solar in California.
Average cost of installing solar in California, first six months of 2017, after federal incentives:
| 1) Central Coast – $15,939 – $3.07 / watt | 8) Sacramento – $19,506 – $3.10 / watt |
| 2) San Francisco Bay Area – $17,050 – $3.34 / watt | 9) Central Valley – $20,153 – $3.01 / watt |
| 3) San Diego – $17,224 – $3.02 / watt | 10) San Bernardino / Inland Empire – $20,418 – $3.09 / watt |
| 4) North Coast – $17,831 – $2.88 / watt | 11) Central Sierra – $20,447 – $3.10 / watt |
| 5) Sonoma / Napa / Solano Counties – $18,032
– $3.34 / watt |
12) Redding and Shasta / Cascades – $20,854 – $2.90 / watt |
| 6) Los Angeles / Ventura Counties – $18,298
– $3.15 / watt |
State Average – $18,680 – $3.09 / watt |
| 7) Orange County – $18,412 – $3.12 / watt |
Key study findings:
– Solar cost per installed watt continues to drop in California over the past three years, but at the same time homeowners have purchased larger systems, keeping overall prices paid for an installation relatively stable.
– Overall average cost of home solar across the Golden state was $18,860, including incentives.
– Overall average costs were shockingly stable over the past three years, increasing 0.2% from 2016 – 2017, and 1.0% from 2015 – 2017.
– The lowest price paid for solar installations overall was seen in the Central Coast, where installations averaged $15,939.
– The highest cost area was Redding and Shasta / Cascades, where homeowners saw average installation costs of $20,854.
– The average cost of solar on a per watt basis, was $3.09, including federal incentives.
– This level represented a 3.3% drop from 2016, and a 8.3% drop from 2015 – so homeowners are paying less per unit of solar generating capacity each year.
– The North Coast paid the lowest per watt cost in the state, at $2.88 / watt.
– The San Francisco Bay area and Sonoma / Napa / Solano Counties paid the highest rates per watt of installed solar in the state at $3.34 / watt.
– Residential installations have increased in size to a state average of 6.1kW (6,100 Watts).
– These sizes were a 4% increase from 2016, and a 10% over 2015 sizes.
– The smallest installations were seen in the San Francisco Bay area, at 5.1 kW.
– The largest installations were seen in the Redding and Shasta / Cascades regions at 7.2 kW.
Solar to the People’s ongoing study on the cost of solar in California aims to provide more transparency to the solar marketplace in California. The underlying data for this study is drawn from the currently interconnected data set published on the California DG Stats website, the official reporting platform for the State of California’s California Solar Initiative.
Solar to the People is a solar information platform that aims to provide independent analysis and information on the solar industry for homeowners, solar installers and policymakers.
Source: Solar to the People
