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[edit] Inverter cost

Someday, someone is going to have to solve the problem of how expensive grid tie inverters are. It basically eliminates all alternative energy options as cost prohibitive. There were not many options last I checked (back in 1999). Jeff Carr 00:44, 13 September 2007 (UTC)

I checked again, still not that many it seems. Here is a page with a few. It's still about $1000 USD per kW. Jeff Carr 00:50, 13 September 2007 (UTC)

I'm from Xantrex. I disagree that current inverter prices "eliminates all alternative energy options as cost prohibitive". Inverters are only about 7% of a grid tie solar system price. Also, the inverter industry has dropped prices...significantly. Just three years ago in the US, inverters under 3 kW were selling for over $.70 US/watt at wholesale. We are now under $.46/watt. And...we are including features to make installation less costly. Eg. many of us are now including a UL listed DC disconnect with the inverter which saves about $100 per inverter and lowers installation labor cost. Also, significant efficiency improvements have been made, increasing solar system productivity. In summary, the inverter industry is doing a lot to lower costs and increase performance. If you want to make solar stand on its own without incentives...you need to look at lowering the wholesale price of solar modules below $2 /watt (currently prices are closer to $4 /watt). If that happens we can all celebrate. [ Lloyd G ]