Maybe it is for some folks. Since you're a fellow code jockey, then you probably care about how the micro-details add up in the overall plan.
This post is about half a year old, but explains the methods of my mathness. And note that my payback period for the overall EV / solar /other home energy improvements is now about April 2032 (less than 9 years from now). That's because I assume only a reasonable 3% inflation rate in future energy costs. But the Dims keep making energy costs go up faster than that YOY (which shortens my payback timeframe).
Solar never pays for itself at todays prices. It can’t. It takes more energy to make them than they generate. Also, their costs usually cross over even at 24 years, but they usually fail between 7-14 years. Duke Energy just put a 75 megawatt solar farm near us. I know Duke very well and found they never expect a return on that investment due to the failure rates.
Well, as you pointed out, maybe solar can be profitable if energy costs continue to skyrocket. A $20,000 solar system today might be worth it if electric costs shoot from an average of 12.5 cents per kilowatt to 50 cents or more.
Solar is great for off-grid situations and long term power outages such as after hurricanes so generator fuel is not consumed. It is what we are putting in for those very reasons. No cost benefits, but we’ll have power when the power goes out for days on end. As it is, our power is unreliable. It goes out during every thunderstorm.