> Utility scale solar is easily half the cost of residential.

If it's only half, the problem it's not going to stop residential installs. By the time that utility power gets to them here in Australia it costs about 3 times as much, so they are going to install their rooftop systems anyway.

I can't speak for elsewhere, but here in Australia residential installs tend to be over provisioned. A small'ish install is 5kW. That generates about 20kWh per day. Typical household consumption is 1/2 that. Newer builds like mine tend to have far more - upwards of 20kW of panels. That's to cater for charging EV's. The result is grid solar installs are getting hammered by roof top solar: https://reneweconomy.com.au/wind-and-solar-hit-record-share-...

In the US it's typically about a quarter.

It shouldn't be that expensive. I had 10x 500w installed and wired on my 7-8 meter high roof in 1/2 day.

I only paid $50 where I ljve, but even with 10x higher labor costs in the US, it should be under $1000.

It shouldn't be, I agree. And eventually it won't be. But SEIA's report https://www.seia.org/research-resources/solar-market-insight... said that, in Q1 of 02024, utility-scale fixed-tilt installations in the USA averaged 98¢ per peak watt, of which 40¢ was the PV modules; and residential installations averaged 325¢ per peak watt, of which 20¢ was the PV modules, which is an atypically low share, historically speaking.

Where do you live?

I'm surprised at the 40¢ figure for utility scale. Are you sure that didn't include the mounting hardware? Utility-scale PV is typically with 1-axis trackers.

Another possibility would be that utility scale solar optimizes to a much large disparity between DC rating and AC rating than does domestic rooftop PV.

I was surprised at it too, but remember that the US basically doesn't allow Chinese solar panels to be imported.

Wait, so those were not US residential cost figures you quoted? Because I don't see how they'd allow Chinese imports for only residential installation.

Those were also US, yes. I don't know why they were so much cheaper. Possibilities include:

- Maybe the SEIA is wrong.

- Maybe utility-scale projects sign contracts to buy PV modules further in advance. The prices were falling rapidly.

- Maybe residential installers were buying low-cost panels with lower efficiency or with no warranty.