Solar Choice provides a solar PV price index for Australian solar that is updated monthly. Its price index is broken down by region, and from what I’ve gathered, it’s the best source for solar PV prices in Australia. Solar Choice has a network of over 100 solar installers.
The comparison shopping firm just recently released its February price index. As you can see in the table below, the median price for a 5kW solar PV system is now under $2/watt in Australia — $1.98/watt, to be specific. (I think that must be in AUD, though. At the current transfer rate, that would be USD $2.04/watt — still a great deal less than solar in the U.S.
For a little more context on how things are changing in Australia, Solar Choice writes: “Following on from the January PV Price Index, prices remain higher than previous months as a result in the decrease in available Federal Solar Rebates but despite this, the cost of solar PV continues to decrease.”
To read much more and see other tables on the price of solar and solar incentives in various regions of Australia, check out Solar Choice’s full post: Solar Choice Price Index – February 2013.
Presumably, Australian solar prices are much lower than U.S. solar prices for several of the same reasons German solar prices are much lower than U.S. solar prices — U.S. permitting regulations (or shackles) are much more costly; the U.S. market isn’t as mature or competitive; and U.S. incentives may be keeping solar prices higher. But this all requires much more research to be more than an educated guess.
Anyway, it’s great to see the price of solar dropping below $2/watt in Australia! Keep it up, you crazy Aussies!
By Le My