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> solar energy prices plummeting Shopping for solar in California, prices aren't plummeting. With high interest rates, solar no longer makes economic sense. It

• justinzollars 3y ago
  People are downvoting this, but from Tesla earnings today "Solar deployments declined on a sequential and YoY basis to 41 MW. Downward pressure on solar demand continued into Q4 as interest rates have remained high." This isn't an opinion, this is a fact. You could also compare the cost of capital between 3% and 10% and derive a cost per kwh.
  • Veserv 3y ago
    The failures of a tiny player like Tesla Solar are totally unrelated to US solar photovoltaic (PV) capacity. From 2021 to 2022 solar PV went from ~161,499 GWh to ~202,080 GWh of net generation (~25.1% increase) [1]. Utility scale went from 112,335 GWh to 140,798 GWh (~25.3% increase) [2] and personal/small scale solar PV went from ~49,164 GWh to ~61,282 GWh (~24.6% increase). New solar PV accounts for 11,058 MW of the total 31,692 MW (~34.8%) capacity additions for 2022 [3] and 24,545 MW of the total 51,490 MW (~47.6%) capacity additions that were planned for 2023 [4]. Tesla Solar accounts for ~1/5 of 1% of solar installation capacity, so it is hardly relevant compared to actual solar energy companies. [1] https://www.eia.gov/electricity/annual/html/epa_03_01_a.html https://www.eia.gov/electricity/annual/html/epa_03_01_a.html [2] Utility Scale Solar includes non-PV, Utility Scale PV numbers derived by subtracting Small Scale Solar Photovoltaic from Estimated Total Solar Photovoltaic [3] https://www.eia.gov/electricity/annual/html/epa_04_06.html https://www.eia.gov/electricity/annual/html/epa_04_06.html [4] https://www.eia.gov/electricity/annual/html/epa_04_05.html https://www.eia.gov/electricity/annual/html/epa_04_05.html
    • justinzollars 3y ago
      What is the cost of a $50,000 at 10% interest vs the cost of $50,000 at 2.5% interest over 10 years? Money is not free. Solar is now expensive: [1] https://www.cnet.com/home/energy-and-utilities/high-interest-rates-are-making-solar-leases-more-appealing/ https://www.cnet.com/home/energy-and-utilities/high-interest... [2] https://www.bloomberg.com/news/newsletters/2023-11-03/investors-sour-on-solar-sector-hurt-by-high-interest-rates https://www.bloomberg.com/news/newsletters/2023-11-03/invest... [3] https://finance.yahoo.com/news/solar-stocks-get-hit-as-rising-interest-rates-weigh-on-demand-183911358.html https://finance.yahoo.com/news/solar-stocks-get-hit-as-risin... [4] https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/05/climate/renewable-energy-inflation-climate-cop28.html https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/05/climate/renewable-energy-... [5] https://www.woodmac.com/news/opinion/high-interest-rates-impede-the-residential-solar-market-boom/ https://www.woodmac.com/news/opinion/high-interest-rates-imp... [6] https://www.ft.com/content/07443afb-b935-492d-8711-8c47e4353c59 https://www.ft.com/content/07443afb-b935-492d-8711-8c47e4353... [7] https://time.com/6281021/renewable-energy-interest-rates/ https://time.com/6281021/renewable-energy-interest-rates/ [8] https://www.fool.com/investing/2024/01/13/why-solar-energy-stocks-dropped-like-a-rock-last-y/ https://www.fool.com/investing/2024/01/13/why-solar-energy-s... [9] https://www.solarpowerworldonline.com/2024/01/high-interest-rates-and-other-issues-threaten-the-residential-solar-market/ https://www.solarpowerworldonline.com/2024/01/high-interest-... [10] https://www.newsweek.com/high-interest-rates-impact-solar-energy-biden-administration-inflation-reduction-act-1840859 https://www.newsweek.com/high-interest-rates-impact-solar-en...
      • nwah1 3y ago
        Utility-scale solar is what is both cheap and plummeting in price, relative to other sources, and has even gone negative during peak production hours.