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> 1. Utility solar will always be cheaper then distributed solar. Utilities are often privatized monopolies these days, that's not at all a safe assumption.
by newnewpdro 7y ago
> 1. Utility solar will always be cheaper then distributed solar.
Utilities are often privatized monopolies these days, that's not at all a safe assumption. Look what happened with California and Enron.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enron#California's_deregulation_and_subsequent_energy_crisis https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enron#California's_deregulatio...
- amluto 7y agoAlso, look at the hilariously high cost of electricity in PG&E territory. If you can deal with storage and peak loads, on-site generation is competing with 20-40 cents / kWh charged by PG&E, not the vastly lower prices that PG&E pays for generation.
- newnewpdro 7y agoDowned PG&E transmission lines are also implicated in causing fires in the state, just another argument in favor of decentralized, on-site generation.
- vkou 7y agoAnd look at what happened to SolarCity, and similar firms. That space is unable to operate profitably, despite large federal subsidies. It also has no shortage of scammy ownership/loans-for-your-solar-install model, is a bad investment for most homeowners, and doesn't even answer the hundred-thousand-dollar-per-home question of peak energy storage. (Or how it can operate in a world where you are on an even playing field for selling power to the grid as the utility.) The home solar industry makes most power utilities look both efficient and competent.