One Comment on How much money does it cost to make ONE solar panel?

roderick_young on Wed, 2nd Dec 2009 6:49 pm


If you mean how much does it cost a manufacturer, First Solar is now making claims of $1/watt manufacturing cost, which obviously doesn’t include shipping. That would make a 200-watt panel $200. http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009/02/first-solar-inc-manufacturing-costs-solar-panels-below-1-dollar-watt.php

Low-cost crystalline panel manufacturers such as Suntech are believed to have costs in the $1.50/watt range today - making it $300 for a 200-watt panel. That doesn’t mean that one can buy a panel for that price, of course.

If you mean a DIY panel from purchased solar cells, the cost would be closer to $360 for an equivalent-powered panel, not counting the price of the frame, and the labor. A homebuilt panel would not stand up to decades of weather unless one spent even more on the frame. And since such a panel would not have safety certification, it could not legally be connected to the grid in most places.

If you meant a water heating panel, please update or post another question - I’m sure people will chime in.

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