> California - the moon might be cheaper. The whole system here is corrupt due to regulatory capture
I'm always amazed at how for regular life things it seems you guys has less "freedom" than we do.
It's my house, so I got up on the roof and installed the panels myself (with a friend). I did pay for a licensed electrician to wire the inverter into the main house breaker and double check everything, and he did get a permit for that work (which was $150, IIRC). Then I emailed the electric company, three days later they came out and installed a bi-directional meter for $32 and I'm good to go.
There are high permitting costs, high cost hardware requirements, and high cost of labor.
The state requires a 4 years of training to become a solar installer, so there is little competition.
Also, with every new house required by law to have solar, installers know they have a captive market and are milking it for all it is worth.
I dont think we have yet seen the cost impact of the new Tariffs on Chinese solar panels and batteries, so it will keep going up.