Disentangle the price dispersion of residential solar photovoltaic systems

Evidence from Germany

verfasst von

Tobias Kraschewski, Tim Brauner, Maximilian Heumann, Michael H. Breitner

Abstract

Although Germany has the largest capacity of installed residential photovoltaic (PV) systems in Europe, comprehensive evidence on transparent pricing information remains missing. This study disentangles why PV quote prices are subject to significant dispersion and analyzes which factors influence particularly low- and high-priced systems in Germany. We create a comprehensive cross-sectional dataset of 19 561 PV system quotes from 2011 to 2022 and use regression analyses to investigate the effects of system characteristics, installation scope, and location-related parameters on quoted prices. Our results reveal highly volatile annual price dispersion consistent over 11 years and large price differences despite similar system characteristics. Applying hedonic regression techniques, we reveal spatially fine-resolved price heterogeneity with up to 20 % difference in the German PV market. System characteristics such as battery usage, installation scope, and system capacity have the most significant effect sizes and are instead control variables. More insightful, the installer density shows price-lowering effects, whereas more PV installations per region, higher solar radiation, and higher labor wages cause price-increasing effects. Quantile regression results reveal that installer density promotes the price reduction of high-priced systems more. Scaffolding, AC installation, and elevation are significant price-increasing factors but with small effect sizes. Finally, DC optimizers affect the levels of high-priced systems more than low-priced ones.

Organisationseinheit(en)

Institut für Wirtschaftsinformatik
Institut für Wirtschaftspolitik

Typ

Artikel

Journal

Energy economics

Band

121

ISSN

0140-9883

Publikationsdatum

05.2023

Publikationsstatus

Veröffentlicht

Peer-reviewed

Ja

ASJC Scopus Sachgebiete

Volkswirtschaftslehre und Ökonometrie, Energie (insg.)

Ziele für nachhaltige Entwicklung

SDG 7 – Erschwingliche und saubere Energie

Elektronische Version(en)

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eneco.2023.106649 (Zugang: Offen)