And those “solar panels” certainly don’t “last forever” either!
Yes, they physically sit on top of their stands (which rust and corrode easily) as glass panels “forever” but their power output degrades quickly from 100% initial power down to about 87% in the first few months exposure , then slowly down even more from 87% to 60% - 70% over the next 15-20 years.
After 20 years? They will drop off more as the surface films and coatings degrade rapidly - but - frankly, we don’t have the new lifetime studies yet to know what really happens with these latest Chinese-quality solar panels. The original lifetimes reports are from US-made Silicon Valley and NASA-quality panels first made in the mid-70’s.
Like the 1970’s -era windmills, they have not been up in the air with little maintenance long enough in enough numbers to really say: 25-30 years as their proponents claim? 7-10 years as skeptics expect?
Remember! ONLY construction and fabrication have been subsidized by all of these wind power government grants and tax breaks! Routine maintenance and servicing (required every two years by very, very expensive technicians and cranes and groups under very dangerous and uncomfortable conditions, can be delayed for a while, but the maintenance MUST BE done eventually. Also, as wind farms get sold and transferred, the original owners are replaced by corporate counters and accountants: ANd those are notorious for not planning ahead and for maximizing quick turn-over profits.
Inside, the power regulators, inverters, batteries, and battery chargers are like all big electronics: 12-15 years if you are lucky. Batteries are 3-4 years; never more than 4.
Real world experience with my Sunpower panels installed in early 2015.
2015 - 7295 kWh
2016 - 7088 kWh
2017 - 7073 kWh
2018 - 6587 kWh
2019 - 6874 kWh
94% output after 5 years. Possibly higher given fluctuations in cloud cover in Northern California.
Will they last forever? NO
Will they pay for themselves in utility bills? YES
Data from Sunpower overall customer experience is 0.32%/yr reduction in output. 1.25%/yr is the sector wide average degradation.
https://energyhub.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/SunPower-Module-Degredation-PDF.pdf
This information is not hard to find. Where did you find your data?