Solar is cost-effective only with subsidies, which means that it’s not cost-effective.
Solar power is not necessarily cost effective only with subsidies. Sometimes other factors cause solar to be cost effective. I installed a 5 kw solar system for my home, which is also my office. Southern California Edison has a perverted tiered rate structure where they decide how much power my residence should use, and if I exceed their allotment for a residence, I’m penalized with a much higher cost per kwh as I reach higher tiers. This socially, or politically, correct tiered structure is averaged notwithstanding my neighbor might not be home all day, thus having a lower demand, whereas I work from home and have servers and other equipment, including A/C, that far exceeds my neighbors demand. My Tier 1 rate is 13 cents/kwh, increasing to 33 cents/kwh in Tier 5. I consistently reached the Tier 5 rate. With the solar system, I barely squeak into Tier 1, and during the winter I bank a couple of kwh per day for cloudy days, or summer use. By installing the system myself, and switching to Net Metering, the payback on the investment is 3 years at the current electric rates. And, I can easily add capacity as needed. The relatively low cost of solar panels, plus performing the labor myself, resulted in a very appealing payback.
The payback doesn’t include any subsidy, which I haven’t even applied for, nor any tax credits. However, I will take the tax credit since I feel it’s my duty as a good citizen to get as much of my tax money back as possible since the government just wastes most of the money anyway.