(3) 10-50kWp - UK Solar PV Installation Cost Analysis April'13-March'17

So, you're interested in installing solar PV, but don't know what it's likely to cost?, or possibly already have received quotations and looking for a reliable source to validate whether it's likely to be competitive?, or maybe there's an interest in how prices have moved since your own install?, or even a need to conduct research into the renewable energy sector?

Utilising data tables available from the latest spreadsheets published by BEIS (25/05/2017) it's possible to analyse Solar PV installation costs for all installations registered within the four financial years running from April 2013 through to March 2017.

The above chart details installations per month and the average cost per kWp of installed capacity for registered systems ranging from 10kWp to 50kWp (the maximum capacity allowable within the Solar PV Feed-in Tariff scheme) and is based on a data subset sample size of 10847 installations.

The chart clearly shows the rate of system installation growth and the relative fall in costs prior to FiT scheme review changes taking effect on 15/01/2016, modifying both the scheme structure and applying major reductions to available tariffs. Following these scheme changes installation demand saw a dramatic reduction, however, within this capacity band the downward trend in average costs seems to have continued at a steady pace.

It must be noted that the above chart applies to relatively large installations, therefore the dilution of cost elements such as inverters and scaffolding have comparatively little effect on the overall cost/kWp for a system. It is also likely that installations of this size would include multiple inverters, the number of which would be relative to the total capacity and therefore the cost of associated equipment relative to total capacity would level out within this band. It is therefore reasonable to deduce that the chart accurately represents the cost/kWp across the entire capacity band than would be the case within the smaller capacity bands.

(This is part of a set of articles - please check for 'Related Posts' in the single post view)

Data Source : BEIS (Solar PV Cost Data) - https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/solar-pv-cost-data