A report by the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory says soft costs are the reason why a residential German solar system costs $3/watt compared to a residential US solar system, which costs $6.19/watt.
The study, Why Are Residential PV Prices in Germany So Much Lower Than in the United States?, updates a September 2012 survey and says about half the price difference may be due to market size in each of the countries. German residential systems are much larger in German, and US installers develop projects more slowly.
It also suggests several other possible soft-cost reasons why German and US residential prices differ including:
Customer acquisition. US installers have higher customer acquisition costs, according to the survey. US installers also have lower customer success rates and higher marketing and advertising costs. Installation labor. US installers need longer for the installation process, and have higher wages for the labor required. The survey also find US installers have higher fees and labor hour requirements for permitting, interconnection and inspection costs. Additionally, the US charges higher sales taxes on PV systems than German.
