With the exception of Brisbane and (in some cases) Perth, average solar PV prices have continued to drop across all of the cities included in Solar Choice’s monthly analysis, falling down to $1.84/W from $1.89/W between September and October. As mentioned in last month’s article, this decline appears to be a function of slimming installer margins, with companies vying to increase competitiveness as consumers move to install solar before a final decision is made about the future of the Renewable Energy Target.
October 2014 average solar PV system prices
All prices in the table below include the federal STC incentive which installers ordinarily include in final system prices. GST is also included.
Solar system prices for October: Dollar-per-watt averages, highs & lows
About STCs
STCs accounted for a price reduction of approximately 70c/W for Zone 3 cities (Sydney, Canberra, Perth, Adelaide, and Brisbane), and around 66c/W for Melbourne & Tasmania.
Components used
The table below contains the brands of inverters and solar modules used in installations as listed by installers. ‘Premium’ product offerings are not included.
| City | Panel brands used | Inverter brands used |
| Adelaide, SA | ReneSola, Q-Cells, Lightway, Jinko, BenQ/AU Optronics, Solar Juice, Trina, Yingli |
SolarMax, SMA, Fronius, Growatt, Power-One Aurora, Samil, Xantrex-Schneider, Delta |
| Brisbane, QLD | ReneSola, Canadian, Yingli, LG, Luxen, Solar Juice, Jinko, Suntech | SolarMax, JFY, Samil, Xantrex/Schneider, Fronius, SMA, Growatt, Power-One Aurora, Eltek, Zever |
| Canberra, ACT | Jinko, Solar Juice, ReneSola, Q-Cells, Yingli, Trina | JFY, Growatt, Fronius, Power-One Aurora, Samil, Delta, SMA |
| Melbourne, VIC | Solarworld, Jinko, ReneSola, Canadian, Solar Juice, Yingli | Power-One Aurora, Fronius, Samil, SolarMax |
| Tasmania | ReneSola, Jinko, Solar Juice, Yingli | Fronius, Power-One Aurora, SolarMax, Samil, |
| Sydney, NSW | ReneSola, Hanwha, Yingli, Trina, Top Solar, Jinko, Solar Juice, Munchen, Canadian | Growatt, Eversolar, UNO, SMA, Samil, Fronius, SolarMax |
| Perth, WA | ET Solar, TN 250, Trina, Jinko, Solar Juice | JFY, Goodwe, Power-One Aurora, Delta, Fronius, Samil |
Historic solar PV system prices (since August 2012)
Indexed $/W solar system prices (Historic)
The chart below provides an at-a-glance look at solar PV system pricing trends since September 2012. Data points are the average of average $/W for each system size (1.5kW-5kW until Nov 2013, then also including 10kW from Dec 2013).
About this data
Tables and charts included in this article were compiled using data from Solar Choice’s installer network database, which contains regularly-updated pricing and product details from over 125 solar installation companies across Australia. Prices do not ordinarily incorporate meter installation fees or additional costs for difficult installations. The discount available to Solar Choice customers is also excluded from calculations, as are prices for ‘premium’ installer offerings. Except in the final chart, average pricing figures for all of Australia are not weighted.
About Solar Choice
Solar Choice provides an impartial solar energy Quote Comparison service for Australian consumers by delivering market transparency from a network of over 100 leading installers nation-wide. Since 2008, we’ve delivered our free Solar Quote Comparisons to over 80,000 Australian households. Solar Choice’s commercial wing, Solar Choice Commercial, compares the market for systems from 30kW to 100kW, and manages tenders for projects up to 2MW. Solar Choice also develops its own very large-scale solar farm projects.
© 2014 Solar Choice Pty Ltd
