PVWatts offered a valuable solar value estimate to consumers, that was disabled recently. PVWatts presented an "Initial Economic Comparison" that included a "Cost of Electricity Generated by System" estimate(for a financed system) with a "Average Cost of Electricity Purchased from Utility". This was an excellent approach to inform consumers of the solar value proposition, reducing it to a simple kWh commodity comparison.
1. What's the future of PVWatts? Please consider your own studies, that the residential solar finance industry is evolving towards host ownership with financing (as opposed to TPO), and a credible source to help consumers make informed decisions is very important to this evolution, even if PVWatts excluded volatile (erroneous) State incentives (most of which could be factored in by consumers), preserving only FTC incentives in the PVWatts calculations.
2. How did PVWatts determine the "Cost of Electricity Generated by the System"? Using PVWatts' financing assumption ("25 year loan@7.5%, no tax deduction") and dividing that loan's monthly payment by the average monthly kWhs generated by the system, the value presented was lower by about $0.02/kWh, implying that other factors influenced the presented value.
3. Did PVWatts, like SAM, factor in an inflation rate (and/or utility price escalation rate)that accounts for this difference?
4. Notwithstanding LCOE, is there a way to replicate the PVWatts presentation of utility kWh cost vs financed solar kWh cost in SAM?
Thank you.
