A DOE Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory report released in December 2010 states that the price of installed solar photovoltaic power systems in the US declined sharply in 2010. A spokesman for San Diego Gas and Electric states that “PV has priced itself into the market and is now competitive with other renewables.”
Based on data from 78,000 PV systems, which represents 70% of all grid-connected PV capacity installed in the US, the report notes that the average cost of systems installed through the California Solar Initiative program declined ty $1 per watt during the first 10 months of 2010. In comparison, the average cost of systems installed in New Jersey declined by $1.20 per watt during the first six months of 2010. The report also shows that systems installed on new homes cost $1.60 per watt less than comparably sized systems installed in rooftop retrofit applications.