Solar costs vary sharply by technology, project scale, geography, and whether a figure measures a module, installed system, operation, or electricity output. The statistics below distinguish global utility-scale projects, European module markets, U.S. distributed systems, modeled benchmarks, and reported generator costs.
Key Solar Cost Statistics
These figures provide a compact starting point for comparing solar cost measures:
- Global utility-scale solar PV installed cost was $758/kW in 2023, down from $5,310/kW in 2010 for newly commissioned projects.
- Global utility-scale solar PV LCOE was $0.044/kWh in 2023, compared with $0.460/kWh in 2010.
- Global utility-scale solar PV capacity factor reached 16% in 2023, up from 14% in 2010.
- Utility-scale solar PV installed cost fell 86% between 2010 and 2023 in inflation-adjusted 2023 dollars.
- Utility-scale solar PV LCOE fell 90% between 2010 and 2023 under IRENA’s cost and financing assumptions.
- Solar PV added 346 GW of renewable capacity globally in 2023, with additions growing 73% from 2022.
- Mainstream crystalline-silicon modules sold in Europe averaged $0.261/W in 2023, after a 25% fall from 2022.
- Preliminary European mainstream module prices were $0.145/W in Q1 2024, a partial-year estimate.
- The DOE 2025Q1 modeled market price for U.S. residential PV-only was $2.95/Wdc, based on a representative 8 kWdc system.
- The DOE 2025Q1 utility PV-only minimum sustainable price was $1.07/Wdc, based on a representative 100 MWdc system.
- The Berkeley Lab dataset covered 3.7 million U.S. distributed PV systems through 2023, representing close to 80% of systems installed to date.
- California’s median residential installed price was $4.2/Wdc in 2023, according to Berkeley Lab’s state-level summary.
- EIA’s 2024 capacity-weighted average cost for U.S. PV plants larger than 100 MW was $1,496/kW, based on reported generators.
- Global utility-scale CSP capacity factor was 55% in 2023, up from 30% in 2010.
- SEIA reported more than 7% of U.S. electricity generation came from solar in its current summary, compared with 0.1% in 2010.
- SEIA reported more than $70 billion of private U.S. solar-industry investment in 2024, an industry estimate.
Contents
- Global utility-scale solar cost trends
- Solar module price statistics
- U.S. solar system cost benchmarks
- U.S. distributed solar installation prices
- Solar project size and tracking costs
- Solar cost outcomes and market scale
Global Utility-Scale Solar Cost Trends
IRENA’s global weighted averages describe newly commissioned utility-scale solar PV, not rooftop systems. Its installed-cost measure uses 2023 dollars, while LCOE is modeled from project costs and assumptions rather than household retail tariffs.
| Measure | 2010 | 2023 | Population and unit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Installed cost | $5,310/kW | $758/kW | Global newly commissioned utility-scale PV, 2023 USD |
| LCOE | $0.460/kWh | $0.044/kWh | Global newly commissioned utility-scale PV, 2023 USD |
| Capacity factor | 14% | 16% | Global newly commissioned utility-scale PV |
Source: Renewable power generation costs in 2023: Executive summary.
IRENA reports an 86% reduction in installed cost and a 90% reduction in LCOE from 2010 to 2023. In 2023, its utility-scale solar PV LCOE was estimated at 56% below the weighted-average cost of fossil-fuel-fired alternatives; that comparison uses IRENA’s fossil-fuel reference and LCOE framework.
Solar PV added 346 GW of renewable power capacity globally in 2023, up 73% year over year. Solar PV and onshore wind together represented more than 95% of the 473 GW of renewable capacity added that year, although the combined figure is not solar’s share alone.
Solar Module Price Statistics and Manufacturing Trends
Module prices measure the panel component, not labor, permitting, financing, interconnection, or the complete installed system. IRENA’s Europe-focused categories show how technology and product positioning affect the module-only figure.
| European module category | 2023 price | Period and unit |
|---|---|---|
| Mainstream crystalline silicon | $0.261/W | 2023 average, 2023 USD/W |
| All-black | $0.426/W | 2023 average, 2023 USD/W |
| High-efficiency | $0.339/W | 2023 average, 2023 USD/W |
| Low-cost | $0.096/W | 2023 average, 2023 USD/W |
| Bifacial | $0.160/W | 2023 average, 2023 USD/W |
Source: Renewable Power Generation Costs in 2023.
Mainstream European module prices fell 25% from 2022 to 2023, and preliminary Q1 2024 pricing reached $0.145/W. The Q1 figure is preliminary and covers part of the year rather than a full-year average; the mainstream category represented about half of the European market in 2023.
Across the reported crystalline-silicon categories, prices rose 4.3% to 6.7% between 2020 and 2021. IRENA attributes that increase to supply-chain disruption and material availability, while its broader summary estimates that solar PV module prices fell around 90% from the end of 2009 to 2023/24.
U.S. Solar System Cost Benchmarks by Segment
The U.S. Department of Energy’s 2025Q1 benchmarks are modeled values for representative systems. MSP means minimum sustainable price, MMP means modeled market price, and both exclude subsidies payable to the system owner.
| Representative system | MSP | MMP | PV-only O&M |
|---|---|---|---|
| Utility, 100 MWdc | $1.07/Wdc | $1.12/Wdc | $20/kWdc-year |
| Commercial, 250 kWdc | $1.95/Wdc | $1.98/Wdc | $40/kWdc-year |
| Residential, 8 kWdc | $2.78/Wdc | $2.95/Wdc | $34/kWdc-year |
Source: Solar Photovoltaic System Cost Benchmarks.
Storage changes the benchmark configuration and price. For representative utility systems, adding 240 MWh of storage raised MSP from $1.07/Wdc for PV-only to $1.71/Wdc for PV+ESS, while the residential PV+ESS MMP was $4.59/Wdc for an 8 kWdc PV system paired with 13.5 kWh of storage.
These modeled values should not be treated as quotes for every project. They describe a defined system design and market assumptions for 2025Q1, not a measured average of all U.S. installations.
U.S. Distributed Solar Installation Prices
Berkeley Lab’s 2024 Tracking the Sun dataset covered 3.7 million U.S. distributed PV systems installed through year-end 2023 and represented close to 80% of systems installed to date. Its scope includes residential, roof-mounted non-residential, and ground-mounted systems up to 5 MWac.
| Segment and state | Median installed price in 2023 |
|---|---|
| Residential, Alaska | $3.2/Wdc |
| Residential, California | $4.2/Wdc |
| Residential, New Jersey | $4.8/Wdc |
| Residential, Utah | $5.2/Wdc |
| Small non-residential, North Carolina | $2.6/Wdc |
| Small non-residential, New York | $3.5/Wdc |
| Large non-residential, North Carolina | $1.8/Wdc |
| Large non-residential, Massachusetts | $2.6/Wdc |
These are observed 2023 state medians, not national averages. Berkeley Lab reports state summaries only where at least 20 observations were available, and its large non-residential segment remains distinct from utility-scale systems above 5 MWac.
Solar Project Size and Tracking-System Costs
EIA’s 2024 figures are capacity-weighted average construction costs for reported U.S. solar generators. They show differences by technology and plant-size class, but a small number of additions can make some categories volatile.
| U.S. PV category | 2024 average cost |
|---|---|
| Crystalline silicon, axis tracking | $1,903/kW |
| Crystalline silicon, fixed tilt | $2,529/kW |
| Thin-film CdTe | $1,613/kW |
| Other PV types | $1,851/kW |
| 1–5 MW plants | $8,062/kW |
| 5–10 MW plants | $2,550/kW |
| 10–100 MW plants | $1,831/kW |
| Larger than 100 MW | $1,496/kW |
Source: Electricity: Construction cost data for electric generators.
The technology categories and size classes are not interchangeable populations. EIA combines all tracking types in the thin-film CdTe category, while the plant-size values describe reported generators installed in 2024 and are not forecasts of future projects.
Solar Cost Outcomes, O&M, and Market Scale
Cost outcomes extend beyond the initial price. For example, IRENA’s global weighted-average capacity factor for newly commissioned utility-scale concentrated solar power rose from 30% in 2010 to 55% in 2023, while CSP LCOE fell from $0.393/kWh to $0.117/kWh and installed cost fell from $10,453/kW to $6,589/kW over the same period.
CSP is solar thermal generation, so these figures should not be conflated with PV. The technology and dispatch characteristics differ, and the CSP project sample and mix vary by year.
DOE’s modeled 2025Q1 O&M benchmarks also rise when storage is included:
- Utility PV+ESS O&M was $33/kWdc-year, compared with $20/kWdc-year for utility PV-only systems.
- Commercial PV+ESS O&M was $67/kWdc-year, compared with $40/kWdc-year for commercial PV-only systems.
- Residential PV+ESS O&M was $64/kWdc-year, compared with $34/kWdc-year for residential PV-only systems.
Source: Solar Photovoltaic System Cost Benchmarks. These are benchmark configurations, not measured fleet averages.
SEIA reports that an average-sized U.S. residential solar system costs about $26,880, down from $40,000 before incentives in 2010. This is a rounded industry estimate, and the comparison mixes a 2010 pre-incentive reference with a current price reported in the source’s 2025 context.
Recent U.S. utility-scale solar PPA prices reported by SEIA ranged from $16/MWh to $35/MWh. PPA prices are contract prices, not LCOE or installed cost, and timing and contract terms vary.
SEIA’s current summary says solar supplied more than 7% of U.S. electricity generation, compared with 0.1% in 2010. It also reports more than $70 billion of private U.S. solar-industry investment in 2024 and nearly 280,000 U.S. solar workers at more than 10,000 companies in 2023; these figures describe industry scale rather than cost per watt.
Source: Solar Industry Research Data.