Report | 2010

Achieving Low-Cost Solar PV: Industry Workshop Recommendations for Near-Term Balance-of-System Cost Reductions

By Eric MaurerSam Newman
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This report synthesizes the specific design strategies and technical and process best practices that emerged from RMI’s June 2010 “Solar PV Balance of System” design charrette. BoS costs—all the upfront costs associated with a PV system except the module—account for over half of PV system cost and pose a barrier to widespread adoption. The charrette process identified many opportunities that could offer the potential to reduce balance of system costs to $0.60–0.90/watt, a 45 percent to 65 percent reduction over current best practices. This report quantifies and prioritizes cost reduction strategies and provides detail on specific recommendations to reduce costs. The related presentation (RMI document ID 2010-17) and