Cost dynamics in the deployment of photovoltaics : Insights from the German market for building-sited systems
(2017) In Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 69. p.948-960- Abstract
In most studies on technology change, the analysis of cost reductions of new energy technologies has been narrow and has often neglected essential processes related to the deployment of new technologies, such as photovoltaics (PV). However, in the case of distributed PV systems, other costs than for the PV modules – aka the deployment or balance-of-system costs – are significant. This review study identifies the long-term dynamics of “hard” and “soft” costs associated with the deployment of building-sited PV systems in Germany since the early 1990s. The results show that the costs for central hardware components such as inverters and mounting systems have decreased by 70–87% since the 1990s. Results also show that “soft deployment... (More)
In most studies on technology change, the analysis of cost reductions of new energy technologies has been narrow and has often neglected essential processes related to the deployment of new technologies, such as photovoltaics (PV). However, in the case of distributed PV systems, other costs than for the PV modules – aka the deployment or balance-of-system costs – are significant. This review study identifies the long-term dynamics of “hard” and “soft” costs associated with the deployment of building-sited PV systems in Germany since the early 1990s. The results show that the costs for central hardware components such as inverters and mounting systems have decreased by 70–87% since the 1990s. Results also show that “soft deployment costs” such as planning and installation decreased by 65–85%, and the corresponding experience curve has a progress ratio of 88–90%. The results imply that both hard and soft deployment costs have decreased with cumulative experience. Generally speaking, deployment processes, and support for such processes, are essential for the assessment of the overall cost dynamics related to the implementation of new energy technologies such as PV.
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- author
- Strupeit, Lars LU and Neij, Lena LU
- organization
- publishing date
- 2017-03-01
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- Balance-of-system (BOS), Deployment, Experience curve, Inverter, Photovoltaic, Soft costs
- in
- Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews
- volume
- 69
- pages
- 13 pages
- publisher
- Elsevier
- external identifiers
-
- scopus:85008152846
- wos:000393016000078
- ISSN
- 1364-0321
- DOI
- 10.1016/j.rser.2016.11.095
- project
- Policy Intervention for a Competitive Green Energy Economy
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- 0827784d-e7c4-4ef3-a732-619080be2b0a
- date added to LUP
- 2017-02-03 08:33:50
- date last changed
- 2025-01-12 20:42:34
@article{0827784d-e7c4-4ef3-a732-619080be2b0a,
abstract = {{<p>In most studies on technology change, the analysis of cost reductions of new energy technologies has been narrow and has often neglected essential processes related to the deployment of new technologies, such as photovoltaics (PV). However, in the case of distributed PV systems, other costs than for the PV modules – aka the deployment or balance-of-system costs – are significant. This review study identifies the long-term dynamics of “hard” and “soft” costs associated with the deployment of building-sited PV systems in Germany since the early 1990s. The results show that the costs for central hardware components such as inverters and mounting systems have decreased by 70–87% since the 1990s. Results also show that “soft deployment costs” such as planning and installation decreased by 65–85%, and the corresponding experience curve has a progress ratio of 88–90%. The results imply that both hard and soft deployment costs have decreased with cumulative experience. Generally speaking, deployment processes, and support for such processes, are essential for the assessment of the overall cost dynamics related to the implementation of new energy technologies such as PV.</p>}},
author = {{Strupeit, Lars and Neij, Lena}},
issn = {{1364-0321}},
keywords = {{Balance-of-system (BOS); Deployment; Experience curve; Inverter; Photovoltaic; Soft costs}},
language = {{eng}},
month = {{03}},
pages = {{948--960}},
publisher = {{Elsevier}},
series = {{Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews}},
title = {{Cost dynamics in the deployment of photovoltaics : Insights from the German market for building-sited systems}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2016.11.095}},
doi = {{10.1016/j.rser.2016.11.095}},
volume = {{69}},
year = {{2017}},
}