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Strangely enough, installation in the US is a lot more expensive than it is in Germany and most other countries with a significant installed base of solar, even

Strangely enough, installation in the US is a lot more expensive than it is in Germany and most other countries with a significant installed base of solar, even once you ignore subsidies. And according to something I read from the US Dept of Energy, one of the big reasons for that is reckoned to be over-regulation. That's because each US state has complicated, separate laws for permitting, attachment to the grid, and so on, whereas Germany has a unified regulatory system which allows installers to get decent economies of scale. The US has all sorts of odd subsidies and issues of regulatory capture like this, I'm thinking also the corn subsidies, and the block on buying cars direct from retailers. It's ironic that all of that happens despite all of the vastly stronger rhetoric about cutting regulations. In my opinion it's another indication that a 'starve the beast' approach to government is not effective even on its own terms. To actually get rid of specific bad policy you have to campaign against those measures specifically, and have people in government who are acting in your interests, you can't just rely on a general anti-government government.

dsfyu404ed 9y ago
>And according to something I read from the US Dept of Energy, one of the big reasons for that is reckoned to be over-regulation. Yes. This is non-negligible part of the problem. There's lots of regulation and that plays right into the hand of the incumbents (utility companies) who can use that regulation to make it harder to compete.
- KirinDave 9y ago
  And many of these subsidies are actually protective of existing energy industry that wants to enforce connectivity to the grid. California in particular had a relatively quick plummet in power demand that actually caused older parts of the grid to start breaking. PG&E despite having used negligence to set a bombs with gas line negligence and kill dozens of dogs with electrified ground plates argued they couldn't cut into profitability, and started forcing people to reconnect to the grid even if the customer would exceed the maximum buyback cap PG&E offers (as I understand it, not a homeowner so this specific part is only my reading). Result is protectionist nonsense that greatly reduces the profit margin of solar for individual installs.
jernfrost 9y ago
Good point about regulation. I am from Norway but have lived in the US. My impression is that regulation and bureachracy tends to be overly complicated in the US, while usually much simpler in Norway. This happens despite Norwegians generally being positive to government and regulations while Americans seem knee-jerk anti anything government. To get simple and good regulation I think you need an effective government and a belief in government. In Norway you can enact large and broad reforms and regulations, while in the US everything seems peacemeal. Take welfare or healthcare. The US has a huge patchwork of small programs and minor regulations. This is due in part because of a reluctance towards broad but simple government programs like single payer. A government can set standards for data exchange and bills e.g. which is why prescription can be sent from my doctor electronically to all pharmacies in Norway.
- Chris_Jay 9y ago
  To be fair, Norwegians might be more anti anything government if the Norwegian regulatory system was as Byzantine as in the US.

dsfyu404ed 9y ago

>And according to something I read from the US Dept of Energy, one of the big reasons for that is reckoned to be over-regulation. Yes. This is non-negligible part of the problem. There's lots of regulation and that plays right into the hand of the incumbents (utility companies) who can use that regulation to make it harder to compete.

KirinDave 9y ago
And many of these subsidies are actually protective of existing energy industry that wants to enforce connectivity to the grid. California in particular had a relatively quick plummet in power demand that actually caused older parts of the grid to start breaking. PG&E despite having used negligence to set a bombs with gas line negligence and kill dozens of dogs with electrified ground plates argued they couldn't cut into profitability, and started forcing people to reconnect to the grid even if the customer would exceed the maximum buyback cap PG&E offers (as I understand it, not a homeowner so this specific part is only my reading). Result is protectionist nonsense that greatly reduces the profit margin of solar for individual installs.

jernfrost 9y ago

Good point about regulation. I am from Norway but have lived in the US. My impression is that regulation and bureachracy tends to be overly complicated in the US, while usually much simpler in Norway. This happens despite Norwegians generally being positive to government and regulations while Americans seem knee-jerk anti anything government. To get simple and good regulation I think you need an effective government and a belief in government. In Norway you can enact large and broad reforms and regulations, while in the US everything seems peacemeal. Take welfare or healthcare. The US has a huge patchwork of small programs and minor regulations. This is due in part because of a reluctance towards broad but simple government programs like single payer. A government can set standards for data exchange and bills e.g. which is why prescription can be sent from my doctor electronically to all pharmacies in Norway.

Chris_Jay 9y ago
To be fair, Norwegians might be more anti anything government if the Norwegian regulatory system was as Byzantine as in the US.