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Is a dollar a watt cheap for commercial sized solar? Five years ago 50kw in a field was about 75,000 dollars in the UK. I assumed prices had come down since then for commercial quantities. Isn't first solar down to 30c a watt or something for the panels?

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Commercial solar is more expensive than solar in a field or utility scale solar. The lowest costs for solar you see quoted in the press will always be for large-scale utility solar installations that are ground mounted.

Anytime you put the solar panels on a rooftop, the price goes up. That said, putting an installation on a commercial property with a large, flat roof allows for lower prices when compared to residential rooftop solar.

Dollar a watt is expensive for even residential solar.

When I worked a design/assembly gig in solar manufacturing (just last year) we were cranking out 60-cell 300+w panels for $85 each. You could buy directly from the company, no middlemen necessary. That's just over a quarter per watt.

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