4 ms·

Rooftop solar is now far more expensive than utility scale solar. As a renter who subsidies this through my electricity bills I don’t understand why I should be

Rooftop solar is now far more expensive than utility scale solar. As a renter who subsidies this through my electricity bills I don’t understand why I should be subsidising more artisanal scale generation for homeowners at 3x the price of utility scale solar.

bryanlarsen 4y ago
Transmission costs exceed production costs in many jurisdictions. Rooftop solar can often eliminate the need for very costly distribution upgrades.
- laurencerowe 4y ago
  Certainly not in California where the transmission cost savings from rooftop solar are less than 1% per kWh vs the 200% increase in costs vs utility scale solar. https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2022-03-28/solar-rooftop-net-energy-metering-incentives-california-public-utilities-commission-cpuc-gavin-newsom https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2022-03-28/solar-rooft...
  - Gibbon1 4y ago
    That underlies my thought on roof top solar. Big picture we can build out twice as much utility scale solar for the same expenditure of resources. If homeowners are going to spend $$ on something replacing gas furnaces with heat pumps would be better.
  - bryanlarsen 4y ago
    Your article says that production is 7 to 9 cents and that distribution is 10 to 20 cents. The problem is that rooftop solar is not lowering those distribution costs in any substantial fashion.
- _hcuq 4y ago
  The utilities should be forced to allow rooftop solar to run during network power outages. That would be a compelling incentive for some people.
  - baq 4y ago
    Resynchronizing all those installations to the grid without a DC step in between (powerwall basically) will cause a lot of blown fuses in the best case. Unless you mean that powerwalls are banned?
topkai22 4y ago
Mostly because it gets it installed. I’m vaguely attached to a utility scale deal trying to happen. The land owners are interested, the utility is interested, and there isn’t much around the site. Still the details might kill the deal- they can’t agree where the HV lines will run, the utility wants a bit more land than the owners want to lease, access details and liability concerns are coming up, etc… Utility scale solar is the future but rooftop solar gets installed NOW because each deal is simpler. Now why my utility isn’t building out solar fields in the massive amounts of land they own around their coal and oil fired plants…
- ncmncm 4y ago
  Maybe you can help steer the project toward a dual use of a reservoir or pasture. When you don't have to pay rent on land, you don't need to pack the panels cheek by jowl. Pasture doesn't normally generate much revenue, per acre, and it tends to be all at once, so something producing year-round is a welcome buffer. The livestock keep down weeds and benefit from shelter, so are healthier. On water, the panels are kept cool and therefore both notably more efficient, but also last much longer. Nobody knows yet how much longer. They cut evaporation and biofouling.

bryanlarsen 4y ago

Transmission costs exceed production costs in many jurisdictions. Rooftop solar can often eliminate the need for very costly distribution upgrades.

laurencerowe 4y ago
Certainly not in California where the transmission cost savings from rooftop solar are less than 1% per kWh vs the 200% increase in costs vs utility scale solar. https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2022-03-28/solar-rooftop-net-energy-metering-incentives-california-public-utilities-commission-cpuc-gavin-newsom https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2022-03-28/solar-rooft...
- Gibbon1 4y ago
  That underlies my thought on roof top solar. Big picture we can build out twice as much utility scale solar for the same expenditure of resources. If homeowners are going to spend $$ on something replacing gas furnaces with heat pumps would be better.
- bryanlarsen 4y ago
  Your article says that production is 7 to 9 cents and that distribution is 10 to 20 cents. The problem is that rooftop solar is not lowering those distribution costs in any substantial fashion.
_hcuq 4y ago
The utilities should be forced to allow rooftop solar to run during network power outages. That would be a compelling incentive for some people.
- baq 4y ago
  Resynchronizing all those installations to the grid without a DC step in between (powerwall basically) will cause a lot of blown fuses in the best case. Unless you mean that powerwalls are banned?

topkai22 4y ago

Mostly because it gets it installed. I’m vaguely attached to a utility scale deal trying to happen. The land owners are interested, the utility is interested, and there isn’t much around the site. Still the details might kill the deal- they can’t agree where the HV lines will run, the utility wants a bit more land than the owners want to lease, access details and liability concerns are coming up, etc… Utility scale solar is the future but rooftop solar gets installed NOW because each deal is simpler. Now why my utility isn’t building out solar fields in the massive amounts of land they own around their coal and oil fired plants…

ncmncm 4y ago
Maybe you can help steer the project toward a dual use of a reservoir or pasture. When you don't have to pay rent on land, you don't need to pack the panels cheek by jowl. Pasture doesn't normally generate much revenue, per acre, and it tends to be all at once, so something producing year-round is a welcome buffer. The livestock keep down weeds and benefit from shelter, so are healthier. On water, the panels are kept cool and therefore both notably more efficient, but also last much longer. Nobody knows yet how much longer. They cut evaporation and biofouling.