Average installed costs for PV systems in the US declined from $10.80 per watt in 1998 to $7.50 a watt in 2009 (in real 2009 dollars), according to DOE’s Lawrence Berkeley National Lab study, "Tracking the Sun III: The Installed Cost of Photovoltaics in the United States from 1998-2009."
The results are based on data from 78,000 residential and non-residential PV systems totaling 874 MW and representing 70% of grid-connected PV in the US.
Preliminary data also suggest a significant decline in 2010. The cost of systems installed through the California Solar Initiative program declined by $1 a watt in the first ten months of 2010 and by $1.20 a watt in New Jersey during the first six months of 2010.
The trend varied based on system size. For example, from 2008-2009, the average cost for 5-10 kW and 10-100 kW declined by $0.4/W and $0.3/W, respectively, but was flat for systems under 5 kW and 100-500 kW, and rose by $0.3/W for systems under 500 kW.
Small PV of 2 kW averaged $9.9/W, while those greater than 1,000 kW averaged $7.0/W (or about 29% less). Two multi-megawatt utility-scale PV systems installed in 2009 had much lower costs ($2.5/W and $5.1/W), showing the benefits of scale in bringing solar PV costs down.
Costs were lowest for systems with mid-range module efficiencies in 2009. For systems under 10 kW, for example, systems with module efficiencies of 15-16% had an average installed cost of $7.40/W, compared to $8.20/W for systems with efficiencies of 12% and $8.30/W for systems with module efficiencies over 18%.
Read the report:
Loading...
that, I would advise that it’s just one of many tools and reursoces. The tools themselves are not real estate investing. Real estate deals and opportunity are driven by life events (death, disease, divorce, job loss, relocation, etc ), and life happens in every market. To successfully invest in real estate, one must buy low and sell high. Regardless of the area or the market conditions, there is always a low price of which one can purchase, and there is always a high price of which one can sell.With regard to ForeClosure Radar, there are multiple places from where to pull this information. I use that specific website as an example because it makes it easy for me to walk people through my thought process when searching for deals. My thought process is the same whether I’m using ForeclosureRadar, the MLS, networking, etc Hopefully, that clarifies a bit.I need to know more about your situation and experience to describe how the Academy can help you, but I don’t see your geographic location as an obstacle. If it makes you feel any better, most people believe they are at a geographic disadvantage. There are successful real estate investors in EVERY market. The activities of successful real estate investing haven’t changed in over a century (if they’ve ever changed). As long as you do the right activities, do them consistently and do them long enough, you WILL succeed at this. No doubt about it even in Alaska Let me know if you need anything else.