Mythical $3.50/watt installation?

[jonathan]

I say "mythical" because I have gotten six bids and all are over $4.30/watt. I live in the Sacramento, CA area. The cost of the systems on a per watt basis range from a high of $4.59/watt with Sunpower panels to a low of $4.31/watt with Canadian Solar panels. I don't want to put junk on my roof and I want to go with a panel manufacturer and contractor who have a proven track record of dependable and quality work and who was here before the solar boom and will be here after the solar bust.

I would love to hear from anyone in the Sacramento, CA area or Northern California area who has come close to the $3.50/watt standard and find out what panels, inverters, etc. they used and who their contractor was.

I'm in the Bay Area. Bids (without significant negotiation) for SunPower prices tend to be $5.50+, non-SunPower tend to be around $4.20-$4.40. I've found one contractor whose bid is closer to $3.90. One of the $4.40 contractors mentioned in the past that he's been able to do closer to $4 if a bunch of neighbors band together; another indicated that each system is custom designed and there really isn't a lot of economy of scale here.

Clearly labor is expensive here, and the demand must not be too soft if they're able to still command these prices...

[J.P.M.]

It's called negotiating.

[SunEagle]

Amazing how much more expensive California solar is. Here in AZ we are doing cash purchase deals at $3.10/watt installed.

My guess is that in CA there is a bigger demand to install solar so the price goes up. Something about "supply and demand" comes to mind from an economics class EC101 back in school.

It also may have to do with bigger pay checks in CA, but I am totally guessing on that one.

[HX_Guy]

Amazing how much more expensive California solar is. Here in AZ we are doing cash purchase deals at $3.10/watt installed.

[GaryS1964]

I say "mythical" because I have gotten six bids and all are over $4.30/watt. I live in the Sacramento, CA area. The cost of the systems on a per watt basis range from a high of $4.59/watt with Sunpower panels to a low of $4.31/watt with Canadian Solar panels. I don't want to put junk on my roof and I want to go with a panel manufacturer and contractor who have a proven track record of dependable and quality work and who was here before the solar boom and will be here after the solar bust.

I would love to hear from anyone in the Sacramento, CA area or Northern California area who has come close to the $3.50/watt standard and find out what panels, inverters, etc. they used and who their contractor was.