Photovoltaic System Pricing Trends in the United States 2015

A high-level overview of historical, recent, and projected near-term photovoltaic (PV) system pricing trends in the United States. It was prepared jointly by LBNL and NREL for the Department of Energy in 2015, integrating perspectives from the Tracking the Sun report series, bottom-up cost modeling, and market data synthesis.

Use Cases

• Analyze historical and projected PV system pricing trends to understand market-driven industry transitions.
• Integrate perspectives from Tracking the Sun reports and bottom-up cost modeling to characterize underlying pricing trends.
• Examine progress in PV price reductions to inform stakeholders managing the renewable energy market shift.

Strengths

• Compiled by authoritative national laboratories (LBNL and NREL) for the Department of Energy.
• Integrates multiple research methodologies including annual report series and cost modeling.
• Provides a time-series perspective on pricing trends with historical and projected data.

Limitations

• Data is from the 2015 edition and may not reflect current market conditions.
• Specific column definitions, row counts, and granular data points are unavailable.
• The primary file format is listed as BIN, which may require specialized tools for access.

Provenance

Source

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) and National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL).

Collection Method

Synthesis of ongoing lab research activities including the Tracking the Sun report series, bottom-up PV cost modeling, and PV market data.

Time Range

Historical data through 2015, with near-term projections.

Freshness

The dataset content is from 2015, though the platform record was last updated in 2026.

Geography

United States.