how low can we go?

[MikeSolar]

There is a glut of panels on the market and the prices are quite low. In the past the defining cost of a panel was the silicon so now that the cell is about 22-25% of the cost of the panel and it will be hard for glass or aluminum to drop in price a lot, Question is........what is the lowest cost we can expect with the current technology? Some people are still waiting for it to come down a lot and I just don't see it happening.

[russ]

I expect you are correct in your assessment - panels can not drop much more - maybe a few cents.

[Sunking]

Some people are still waiting for it to come down a lot and I just don't see it happening.

It may go down a little bit more as companies liquidate inventory and go bankrupt, but has to go up at some point because panels are selling below cost.

[MikeSolar]

It may go down a little bit more as companies liquidate inventory and go bankrupt, but has to go up at some point because panels are selling below cost.

Even if they were making a profit, it is hard to see anyone shaving 10-15% off aluminum or glass to bring it down more. all this means that any reduction in overall cost will have to come from regulatory issues which still makes us $1-2 higher than Germany.

[russ]

Even if they were making a profit, it is hard to see anyone shaving 10-15% off aluminum or glass to bring it down more. all this means that any reduction in overall cost will have to come from regulatory issues which still makes us $1-2 higher than Germany.

So you want the general public to pay for that? The ones without solar? They already have to participate by paying for the subsidies.

The German cost thing is a dead horse some people love to kick around.

[MikeSolar]

So you want the general public to pay for that? The ones without solar? They already have to participate by paying for the subsidies.

The German cost thing is a dead horse some people love to kick around.

No, all I'm saying is that the equipment is nearly the same cost in Germany as here. It is regulations and stupid paperwork that makes it more expensive here. I've seen them installing in Germany, very fast and almost no paperwork.

[SoCalsolar]

The process could be streamlined a bunch

The process could be streamlined a bunch I know of one company that gets their jobs installed in about 1 month. The average time frame is about 100-120 days and time is money.

[russ]

No, all I'm saying is that the equipment is nearly the same cost in Germany as here. It is regulations and stupid paperwork that makes it more expensive here. I've seen them installing in Germany, very fast and almost no paperwork.

Similar to Australia as noted in another thread. Germans will do something right just because that is the correct way to do it. Americans/Canadians are not that way. The process can be improved but inspections, NEC etc have to stay there.