Grid parity reached for consumers in the Netherlands

In order to address the scattered availability of information on photovoltaic (PV) modules, inverters and systems in the Netherlands a new organization was founded mid 2011: Stichting Monitoring Zonnestroom (Foundation Monitoring Photovoltaics). As one of its first tasks, a market inventory study was performed in October 2011, with an update in April 2012. This study revealed that 165 different panels could be purchased in the Netherlands and 98 different inverters. Price ranges were found to range from 1.11 to 4.70 €/Wp, and 0.17 to 0.87 €/Wp for panels and inverters, respectively. For inverters, a clear relation was found between price and size: small inverters (<;1 kW) are priced at an average of 0.6 €/Wp, while large (>;10 kW) inverters are priced at 0.3 €/Wp. Other BOS components such as support and installation are priced at 0.1-0.5 €/Wp, depending on the system size. From these data an average system price was estimated to be 2.6 €/Wp. The update in April revealed that much more panels could be purchased (488) as well as inverters (188). PV panel price was reduced by 20-30% in this period of 6 months. Complete systems including installation are also offered, and their prices vary from 2.8 (600 Wp) via 2.4 (2.5 kWp) to 1.9 €/Wp (50 kWp) in October; in April these prices are found to be lowered by 20-30%. Using an energy yield of 900 kWh/kWp, 25 years system lifetime, 6% discount rate, and 1% operation and maintenance (O&M) cost, a levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) is calculated for a 2.5 kWp system to be 0.173 €/kWh for the system price of 1.76 €/Wp. Today, electricity suppliers charge 0.23 €/kWh or more to consumers. Clearly, grid parity has been reached in the Netherlands in April 2012 (in fact already in October 2011!).