Replies

My home is all electric. The electric bill runs $200 to $250/month (less in the spring and fall when we aren't using heat or ac)

The interest on $70,000 at 6% is $350/month.

So, it's costing the guy at least $100 more per month for electricity, plus he's out $70,000.

I think I'll wait to install my own solar panels.

“”My home is all electric. The electric bill runs $200 to $250/month (less in the spring and fall when we aren’t using heat or ac)
The interest on $70,000 at 6% is $350/month.

So, it’s costing the guy at least $100 more per month for electricity, plus he’s out $70,000.””

There is something else that the guy has to concern himself with...maintenance/replacement on the deep-discharge batteries needed to make solar viable. The sun only shines about 12 hours a day. When it sets, solar panels don’t create electricity. The way most systems handle this is to install deep-discharge batteries which charge up during the day and provide electric at night. The problem is that deep-discharge batteries are expensive and don’t last more than ten years.

I suspect that $15,000-$20,000 of the $70,000 he originally invested was for the deep-discharge batteries. That means he will have to invest the same amount (more with inflation) in about ten years to keep his system operational. One thing I don’t know is what the disposal charge is for spent deep-discharge batteries...but I don’t think its cheap.

A serious problem which complicates rational discussion occurs when people conflate two separate issues. In this case, decentralization via solar, and solar generation per se.

There will always be the need for large-capacity generating and grid infrastructure, no matter how many rooftop solar panels get installed. But the real future of solar will lie in large-scale installations, probably using thermal solar rather than photovoltaics, supporting the energy grid.