Now that the pandemic "supply chain" bottlenecks are in the rear-view mirror, solar modules' decades long "cost per watt" pricing declines are re-surfacing.
As recent as 2010, solar module pricing was around $3 per watt. Now it's heading to $0.10 per watt.
"Solar module prices may approach the threshold of $0.10/W by the end of 2024 or eventually in 2025, according to Tim Buckley director of Australia-based think tank Climate Energy Finance (CEF)" via: PV Magazine
We are seeing solar module pricing experiencing the same types of historical price decreases that other tech commodities experienced for years. Such as microprocessors (Moore's Law - transistors double, costs halved every two years) and DRAM (costs decreased 90% every five years between 1957 and 2020). The decreases in component costs make the technologies that we use every day in business and in our daily lives more affordable.
Economies of Scale For Solar Module Production
Solar modules follow their own numerical rule, called Wright's Law. With Wright's law, technologies get cheaper at a consistent rate, as the cumulative production for that technology increases. WIth each doubling of production, solar module pricing decreases 20%.
How Declining Module Prices Benefit Solar Installations
As solar module prices keep decreasing, what's happening now, is that solar module costs are becoming a nominal cost (less than 10%) of solar systems. The price decreases will support solar deployment in 2024 and onward.
Solar Modules Cost Chart ($ / Watt)
Source: OurWorldInData
Historical DRAM Pricing
Source: AIImpacts.org
Moore's Law
Source: OurWorldInData