Re: All week long (mid dec 2007) I've been hearing about...

That's absolutely what I'm saying!

Using the example above even if the solar material was $0/W the cost is still $6/W installed.  It's classic marketing, it's lousy engineering.

That's why my company focused st strongly on the total system.  Our panels still cost a few $ per sq ft, but a 170 sq ft panel goes up in minutes, not hours, so our install costs arent $3/W they're more like $0.15/watt to hang a panel.

And yes, total efficiency is critically important.  Back in '87 we developed a 2% efficient thin film, and it was as cheap as plastic trash bags... But the cost to install, and the short lifetime doomed it to the round file.