It’s no secret that soft costs have not come down as fast as solar module costs (in the U.S.). Solar module costs have come down about 75% in the past 3–4 years. But soft costs haven’t moved nearly as much. As the story linked above shows, there are a number of reasons why that’s the case.
A handful of companies, university researchers, and government agencies are working hard to find ways to bring soft costs down. Clean Power Research is one of those.
In a short article on the matter, Clean Power Research writes, “Module prices, which three or four years ago made up 50% or more of total system costs for residential customers, are now often less than 25% of total system costs. Soft costs have barely budged in absolute terms, and have increased from 25% or so of system costs just a few years ago to close to half of system costs today.”
Also in that post, Clean Power Research notes some of the tools it offers to help bring down soft costs:
“Our Clean Power Estimator and QuickQuotes products have been helping companies lower the costs of customer acquisition for many years. Our PowerClerk software has dramatically reduced the administrative costs associated with incentives across many states, and we’re currently expanding the PowerClerk lineup to include capabilities that will help reduce the costs associated with interconnection.”
From an initial glance, these tools look highly useful.
In a separate article, Clean Power Research also brings up how PowerClerk has helped to advance solar growth in California and bring down costs:
The Los Angeles Department of Water & Power (LADWP) – the nation’s largest municipal utility – processed 400% more solar incentives in the 2011-2012 fiscal year after implementing a new, more efficient program management solution from Black & Veatch and Clean Power Research.
As a result of the new program, LADWP:
- Provided incentives for approximately 1,900 solar projects totaling 21.8 MW of generation, up from 8.8 MW the previous year – more than doubling electric generation from its Solar Incentive Program.
- Reduced application review time by approximately 65%.
- Doubled their rate of payments.
A key feature of the streamlined solution was the integration of PowerClerk, a self-service online tool that makes it easy to apply for an incentive, and allows program administrators to efficiently process applications.
Learn more about how LADWP is using PowerClerk directly from Kenneth Pritchett, engineering associate at LADWP and manager of the Solar Incentive Program:
