In general, contractor overhead in America is obscene, compared to Europe. We have a lot of regularly capture working to keep it that way, too.

DIY is viable if you're a bit nutters (like me).

I just paid ~$35k (pre-now-expired-tax-break) to install a grid-tied 25kw ground mount system. I DIY'd everything except the connection between the array and the grid, which I paid an electrician to do, and the trenching which I paid my buddy with a mini-excavator to do.

It was a bit of a PITA, but mostly because I didn't finally make up my mind to do it until October and had to have it constructed by Dec 31st to take advantage of the expiring tax credit. If I'd given myself 6 months, it would have still been a big project, but way less stressful.

My neighbor's paid the same price to a contractor for a 11kw system.

Even at 46°N, and with relatively cheap electricity, my system should pay for itself in 6-8 years.

It all comes back to insurance- they're used to getting crazy sums of money because nobody questions the rates

We looked at trying to get some mini-split heat pumps for my mom's place & were getting quotes $30k figures for two modest units (it's a tiny well insulated house). I don't know what the frak is wrong with this nation; this is so fantastically worrying.