My “uphill” neighbor has a large solar array on his south facing roof. Since they are not there much of the time I’m thinkin’ it’s only for essentials in the house when they are gone. On the plus side (not) it makes a great roosting place for about 200 pigeons since there is about a 6-8 inch gap between the panels and the roof. YUCK!!!!!
Thanks for the interesting account. Yes, roof mounts can lead to hazards. Heh.
One of my own nearest neighbors (somewhat over 2 miles away) has a PV solar electric system, but their modules are mounted on posts. PV solar systems are good for powering security systems, too (including cameras for those who get efficient enough camera systems and configure them for low energy usage).
Like me, they are several miles from the nearest power company lines and don’t have any reasonable alternative. It’s very windy here much of time, too, but wind turbines need to be homebuilt to withstand the gusts (up to around 110 mph sometimes each winter). Due to NIMBY regulations, though, very expensive engineering fees are required for each wind turbine tower, and NIMBYs are always pushing for more regulations against neighbors.
Another county in the state (CO) restricts wind turbines to commercial ones with a particular certification (won’t last more than a few hours with the winds here) and limits solar heating collectors to those with a Florida certification that makes them outrageously expensive (high elevation with intense sunlight here, making the low-iron glass glazed collectors a stupid choice).
There are commies of all kinds, including those who limit the freedoms of individuals for the purpose of preventing competition, herding people to buy their own products exclusively and preventing the property rights and family rights of others to keep the neighborhoods...well, commie.
All of that said, I’m against subsidies for alternative energy (including tax breaks) and have not received any. A system built well by the person who owns it can be cost-effective. Professionally installed systems usually are not. And for some of us, grid power is not a workable option (too far away).