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Domestic rooftop solar no longer makes financial sense. Panels have gotten so cheap that installation costs now dominate. Utility scale solar can be built outri

Domestic rooftop solar no longer makes financial sense. Panels have gotten so cheap that installation costs now dominate. Utility scale solar can be built outright for the 30% subsidy offered on domestic solar.

gofreddygo 4y ago
> Utility scale solar can be built outright for the 30% subsidy offered on domestic solar. What does that even mean ? I have a ton of sunlight all throughout the year (almost). What do I do to harness it ?
- parineum 4y ago
  Buy some property in the middle of nowhere and just put a bunch of panels on the ground.
- laurencerowe 4y ago
  > What does that even mean ? So in 2021 solar construction costs averaged $2.94/W for residential and $0.77/W for utility scale solar. https://www.solarreviews.com/blog/how-does-utility-scale-solar-work https://www.solarreviews.com/blog/how-does-utility-scale-sol... So if you installed a 10kW residential system it might cost $29,400 which would make you eligible for a 30% federal tax credit at a cost to the government of $8,820. However if the government instead spent that $8,820 on utility scale solar it could pay outright for the construction of 11.5kW of solar generation capacity. > I have a ton of sunlight all throughout the year (almost). What do I do to harness it ? So as an individual it might make sense for you to take advantage of the government subsidy and have them help pay for a residential system for you! It just makes no sense at a societal level to spend money on small expensive systems when we could instead be spending it on large cheap systems.
  - gofreddygo 4y ago
    I get your point now. Panels cost 4 times as much when installed individually instead of at a community scale. I agree the economy of scale here is just too good to be wasted away like this. As a consumer though, I see two practical choices (1) keep paying PG&E their increasing cost for electricity or (2) eat that initial high cost of solar install and keep outgoing cost constant for a decade. And some impractical ones like convince a bunch of people to setup a grid at community scale or do a DIY solar install to keep the install cost low.
- ElevenLathe 4y ago
  They're saying don't bother. The same panels can be installed more cheaply in a utility scale solar farm, and the sunlight hitting your roof is not itself a valuable commodity.
xsmasher 4y ago
I'm not sure I understand - how could it make sense when panels were more expensive, but "no longer makes financial sense" because panels are cheap?
- laurencerowe 4y ago
  When panel costs dominate the difference in installation costs between residential and utility scale solar don’t matter as much. Those subsidies encouraged investment and helped drive down the cost of panels in the long run by expanding the market. Now that panels are cheap the installation costs dominate. Residential installation is basically never going to get substantially cheaper so it no longer makes sense to subsidise such systems when the subsidy alone would pay for more efficiently installed utility scale solar. It seems like we should shift the subsidy to expansion of grid connectivity as that now seems to be the blocker for projects.

gofreddygo 4y ago

> Utility scale solar can be built outright for the 30% subsidy offered on domestic solar. What does that even mean ? I have a ton of sunlight all throughout the year (almost). What do I do to harness it ?

parineum 4y ago
Buy some property in the middle of nowhere and just put a bunch of panels on the ground.
laurencerowe 4y ago
> What does that even mean ? So in 2021 solar construction costs averaged $2.94/W for residential and $0.77/W for utility scale solar. https://www.solarreviews.com/blog/how-does-utility-scale-solar-work https://www.solarreviews.com/blog/how-does-utility-scale-sol... So if you installed a 10kW residential system it might cost $29,400 which would make you eligible for a 30% federal tax credit at a cost to the government of $8,820. However if the government instead spent that $8,820 on utility scale solar it could pay outright for the construction of 11.5kW of solar generation capacity. > I have a ton of sunlight all throughout the year (almost). What do I do to harness it ? So as an individual it might make sense for you to take advantage of the government subsidy and have them help pay for a residential system for you! It just makes no sense at a societal level to spend money on small expensive systems when we could instead be spending it on large cheap systems.
- gofreddygo 4y ago
  I get your point now. Panels cost 4 times as much when installed individually instead of at a community scale. I agree the economy of scale here is just too good to be wasted away like this. As a consumer though, I see two practical choices (1) keep paying PG&E their increasing cost for electricity or (2) eat that initial high cost of solar install and keep outgoing cost constant for a decade. And some impractical ones like convince a bunch of people to setup a grid at community scale or do a DIY solar install to keep the install cost low.
ElevenLathe 4y ago
They're saying don't bother. The same panels can be installed more cheaply in a utility scale solar farm, and the sunlight hitting your roof is not itself a valuable commodity.

xsmasher 4y ago

I'm not sure I understand - how could it make sense when panels were more expensive, but "no longer makes financial sense" because panels are cheap?

laurencerowe 4y ago
When panel costs dominate the difference in installation costs between residential and utility scale solar don’t matter as much. Those subsidies encouraged investment and helped drive down the cost of panels in the long run by expanding the market. Now that panels are cheap the installation costs dominate. Residential installation is basically never going to get substantially cheaper so it no longer makes sense to subsidise such systems when the subsidy alone would pay for more efficiently installed utility scale solar. It seems like we should shift the subsidy to expansion of grid connectivity as that now seems to be the blocker for projects.