Solar panel prices have dropped since 2011 but become more consistent over the past couple of years.
Cost of an acre of solar panels.
Most solar panels last for 50 years have a 25 year warranty and start generating a return on investment after 8.
Of course it s very important to remember that these figures vary wildly on a project by project basis thanks to some of the factors we ve discussed above.
Looking now at the cost per acre it will cost you an average of 2 000 per acre for a 10 acre site near a substation that is just outside an urban area.
However solarreviews handles more than 1 000 quote requests per day and the current average price we see on our marketplace is 2 64 per watt.
The answer depends on different factors.
Are solar panels getting cheaper.
The average solar panel payback period is 7 to 12 years and solar energy saves 600 to 2 000 per year on electricity costs.
On the average the solar farm profit per acre is somewhere between 21 250 and 42 500 on an annual basis.
This can make it tricky to get a rough estimate of how much it will cost to build per acre of solar panels.
For a typical solar installation the general rule of thumb is that for every 1kw of solar panels needed the area required is approximately 100 square feet.
Between 2015 2018 the average cost was closer to 6 600.
Also note that fees paid to the property owner for the land can differ widely based on the unique characteristics of the land and the size of the solar installation.
So how many acres for solar will feed this growing demand.
The most recent official data from the doe funded lawrence berkeley labs published in september 2019 found that the median cost of residential solar panels is 3 70 watt.
This means that for a 1mw solar pv power plant the area required is about 2 5 acres or 100 000 square feet.
A good rule of thumb is that on average a one acre field of solar panels will cost from 400 000 to 500 000 before government incentives.
Well according to landmark dividend the average solar farm profit per acre lands somewhere between 21 250 and 42 500.
National data september 2020.