Based on the Australian experience, the next wave of price declines for residential solar will indeed come from balance-of-system cost declines, increased installation efficiency and lower profits.
Current costs in Australia are about A$ 1.70 /pk-W (~US$1.35), pre-subsidies, split roughly into 35% modules, 10% inverter, 10% mounting system, 10% other hardware (cabling, switchboard etc), 10% installation and 25% "vendor's margin", including marketing, sales and profits.
The household has also to pay for a bi-directional meter to allow for energy sales. IIRC that was around A$350.
It's a mystery why the US costs are so high - maybe not enough competition?
Current costs in Australia are about A$ 1.70 /pk-W (~US$1.35), pre-subsidies, split roughly into 35% modules, 10% inverter, 10% mounting system, 10% other hardware (cabling, switchboard etc), 10% installation and 25% "vendor's margin", including marketing, sales and profits.
The household has also to pay for a bi-directional meter to allow for energy sales. IIRC that was around A$350.
It's a mystery why the US costs are so high - maybe not enough competition?