Boston, MA – April 22, 2020
Today, EnergySage released its tenth semiannual Solar Marketplace Intel Report™, which is based on millions of transaction-level data points generated within the EnergySage Solar Marketplace throughout 2019. This report tracks the evolving pricing, equipment, and consumer preference trends shaping today’s U.S. residential solar industry, and serves as a leading indicator of where the market is headed and why it’s well-positioned to overcome the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Solar has a long history as a resilient, mission-driven industry that has weathered many storms before,” said EnergySage CEO and founder Vikram Aggarwal. “As we continue to closely monitor the ongoing situation created by the coronavirus, I see no reason to expect that to change now. This industry is dynamic and always adapting. We’ve seen examples of this even in the past few weeks, as installers have accelerated their use of digital tools to engage consumers. Installers came into this crisis with a lot of strength and some real tailwinds; that’s highly relevant context as we collectively tackle new challenges.”
Key insights from the latest Solar Marketplace Intel Report include:
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Solar prices drop in 7 of the 10 largest residential markets:
Over an 18-month period spanning from July 2018 through the end of 2019, solar prices began to decrease more predictably in the largest residential solar markets in the country. Between the first and second half of 2019, Arizona, Connecticut, and Nevada saw the biggest decrease in price.
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Less than 2% of quotes on EnergySage are above $4 per Watt:
In 2009, the average price of solar remained above $8 per Watt. Ten years later, only one out of every 50 solar quotes on EnergySage was at a price half that high. The average cost of solar in 2019 was $2.96 per Watt, which is more than a 60% decline from a decade ago.
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Power shutoffs in California led to a spike in solar and storage interest:
In October, EnergySage experienced a surge in website traffic and registrations from California following sustained power outages during wildfire season, known as public safety power shutoffs (PSPS). This is a pattern seen across the country in response to most extreme weather events as evidenced by the 2019 EnergySage-NABCEP Solar Installer Survey, which found that the primary driver for solar + storage installations is resilience in the face of storms or power outages.
Note: This report only covers data through the end of 2019, and thus does not address effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. We are closely monitoring the impact of the ongoing situation on both our installer network and consumer interest in solar, and will provide insights and analysis as they become available.
EnergySage is the most visited website in the U.S. solar industry and runs the country’s leading comparison-shopping marketplace for rooftop solar, energy storage, community solar, and solar financing. This latest report furthers the company’s mission to make solar more accessible and affordable for Americans through unbiased information, transparency, and choice.
This report and others can be downloaded for free at: www.energysage.com/data
About EnergySage, Inc.
EnergySage is the leading online comparison-shopping marketplace for rooftop solar, energy storage, community solar, and financing. Supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, EnergySage is the trusted source of information for over 10 million consumers across 35+ states. In 2019, the company sent over $5 billion in solar installation requests to its network of more than 500 pre-screened solar installation companies, and serves as a high-quality lead source for solar financing companies and powerful distribution channel for solar equipment manufacturers. EnergySage is unique in that it allows consumers to request and compare competing quotes online, unlike traditional lead-generation websites. For this reason, leading organizations like Environment America, Connecticut Green Bank, Duke University, National Grid, and Staples refer their audiences to EnergySage to empower them as they consider solar. The EnergySage formula of unbiased information, transparency and choice helps consumers go solar with confidence – at a higher rate of adoption, and lower cost. For more information, please visit EnergySage and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and LinkedIn.
