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If there's any way to spur adoption of renewable energy, it's this. Once renewables become cheaper than fossil fuels, almost everyone will start to switch.

zackmorris 9y ago
Renewables are already cheaper than coal: https://www.google.com/search?q=wind+solar+cheaper+than+coal&tbm=nws https://www.google.com/search?q=wind+solar+cheaper+than+coal... I saw a chart a decade ago that projected when the cost of rooftop photovoltaic panels would be be less than the install cost, and it was before now. Looks like that happened around last year ($3 per watt for panel, $3 per watt for install cost): https://www.solarpowerauthority.com/how-much-does-it-cost-to-install-solar-on-an-average-us-house/ https://www.solarpowerauthority.com/how-much-does-it-cost-to... With free energy all around us from the sun, the difficulty is no longer in collection. The next big opportunities from a profit vs effort descending perspective will be in areas that are causing friction in adopting renewables: * legalities * inverters (currently priced 2-10x higher than they should be for non-technical reasons) * storage (batteries, compressed air, gravity etc) * conversion (electrolysis and methane production) * distribution
- Zaak 9y ago
  Are inverters costing more because of increased demand at the current production rate, or is there monopoly / price gouging happening?
  - zackmorris 9y ago
    I may have been off a little, grid tie inverters used to be too expensive but it looks like they've come down a lot in the last year or two. It's currently about $50/kW for computer power supplies and $100/kW for grid tie inverters: https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=1000+watt+power+supply https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=1000+watt+power+supply https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=1000+watt+grid+tie+inverter https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=1000+watt+grid+tie+inve... So still a factor of 2x but there is room there for innovation. They will likely always be more expensive due to safety considerations for line workers etc though. IMHO this is the component that is most likely to bring renewables to the masses because they can convert any kind of power to the existing standard.
- juliangoldsmith 9y ago
  Well, let me clarify my statement. At this point, I'd expect large solar and wind plants to be competitive with fossil fuels. The problem would be with storing power, so that it will be consistent. My previous post was referring to individuals, rather than businesses. For a homeowner to install a PV system, based on your link, it would cost around $18,000. You wouldn't break even on it for 20 years, and that's assuming that you're still tied to the grid. Once renewables are both cheaper than fossil fuels, and in reach for the average person, mass adoption will quickly follow.

zackmorris 9y ago

Renewables are already cheaper than coal: https://www.google.com/search?q=wind+solar+cheaper+than+coal&tbm=nws https://www.google.com/search?q=wind+solar+cheaper+than+coal... I saw a chart a decade ago that projected when the cost of rooftop photovoltaic panels would be be less than the install cost, and it was before now. Looks like that happened around last year ($3 per watt for panel, $3 per watt for install cost): https://www.solarpowerauthority.com/how-much-does-it-cost-to-install-solar-on-an-average-us-house/ https://www.solarpowerauthority.com/how-much-does-it-cost-to... With free energy all around us from the sun, the difficulty is no longer in collection. The next big opportunities from a profit vs effort descending perspective will be in areas that are causing friction in adopting renewables: * legalities * inverters (currently priced 2-10x higher than they should be for non-technical reasons) * storage (batteries, compressed air, gravity etc) * conversion (electrolysis and methane production) * distribution

Zaak 9y ago
Are inverters costing more because of increased demand at the current production rate, or is there monopoly / price gouging happening?
- zackmorris 9y ago
  I may have been off a little, grid tie inverters used to be too expensive but it looks like they've come down a lot in the last year or two. It's currently about $50/kW for computer power supplies and $100/kW for grid tie inverters: https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=1000+watt+power+supply https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=1000+watt+power+supply https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=1000+watt+grid+tie+inverter https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=1000+watt+grid+tie+inve... So still a factor of 2x but there is room there for innovation. They will likely always be more expensive due to safety considerations for line workers etc though. IMHO this is the component that is most likely to bring renewables to the masses because they can convert any kind of power to the existing standard.
juliangoldsmith 9y ago
Well, let me clarify my statement. At this point, I'd expect large solar and wind plants to be competitive with fossil fuels. The problem would be with storing power, so that it will be consistent. My previous post was referring to individuals, rather than businesses. For a homeowner to install a PV system, based on your link, it would cost around $18,000. You wouldn't break even on it for 20 years, and that's assuming that you're still tied to the grid. Once renewables are both cheaper than fossil fuels, and in reach for the average person, mass adoption will quickly follow.