Residential Solar Costs Begin to Flatline

When Tesla's (NASDAQ: TSLA) SolarCity was independent and growing quickly, the company's business was driven by the rapidly falling cost of installing solar panels. Not only were panels themselves getting cheaper, but companies were becoming more efficient selling and installing systems, lowering labor costs along the way.

But the last two years has seen residential solar costs flatten. And with Tesla de-emphasizing its solar business, Vivint Solar (NYSE: VSLR) and Sunrun (NASDAQ: RUN) are the two biggest installers to watch. If current trends continue, they may struggle to lower costs in 2017 and that could limit opportunities for growth.

Image source: Getty Images.

Source: Fool.com