The ninth edition of the Tracking Sun Report, funded by the SunShot initiative, summarizes trends in the price of solar photovoltaic systems for residential and nonresidential use. Solar energy system prices are at an all-time high, as you might expect from a booming industry. Even more exciting is that Berkeley Lab has publicly released the data it used to analyze the report this year. This makes all the non-confidential information from the 800,000 solar systems included in the most recent edition of the study available.
The data is now available in over 60 fields, including the size, location, date, price installed, equipment specifications, and other information. The data does not include personally identifiable information on individuals who host or own solar energy systems. You can access the data through the National Renewable Energy Laboratory Open PV Project. A user guide describing the data sources and fields is also available.
Solar companies and their customers both benefit from making this information available. Data access helps solar companies lower their capital costs for new projects. Par exemple, fragmented information limits the financing of solar energy projects because it undervalues payback periods. This makes them less appealing investments. Investors can more accurately value solar investment with increased amounts of standard data. Having more data on the performance of solar projects also encourages solar companies to create new products capable of improving performance, cost, and transparency. It is now more affordable to run solar businesses and for Americans to use solar energy.
This data will also help solar energy studies progress, leading to a further evolution of solar power. Berkeley Lab is collaborating with several universities over the next two-year period to use the data in unique and new ways. They seek input about potential research topics that could be explored with this data.
The SunShot Initiative works to ensure the solar industry increases transparency in data. SunShot launched Orange Button earlier this year. The program aims to standardize solar data collection and exchange. Orange Button helps the Energy Department, Berkeley Lab, and others track industry trends and progress toward SunShot’s cost-reduction goal.
SunShot is committed to a culture of data transparency. It is vital that the public can see how their tax dollars are spent. The SunShot Project Map contains detailed information on nearly 600 active and completed awards, including project descriptions, funding amounts, and locations.
Increased data transparency is essential to a robust and safe solar market. Find out more about Tracking The Sun and Orange Button.