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Please note this is utility scale solar, not random homeowners adding panels to their roofs. These are fossil fuel energy companies investing in and operati

Please note this is utility scale solar, not random homeowners adding panels to their roofs. These are ~~fossil fuel~~ energy companies investing in and operating these installations. And it’s working!

toddmorey 3y ago
Yes we looked at panels for our home but I believe community (off site) solar is the way to go. You essentially buy panels as part of a large farm and the energy they produce is subtracted from your utility bill. No maintenance, no worry about roof angles or which way your house faces. Usually the investment is financed but you still come out ahead each month. Of course need to have a local program and participating power company.
zaphod12 3y ago
That's what is so frustrating about people who oppose renewables - it's super simple capitalism at work. Once prices came down enough, why would you want to have to PAY for the fuel your power plant uses?! Install it and let it go! This is also what's killed coal so effectively - why would any company want to provide all of those good paying jobs when they just don't have to! (this pertains to NG and other fuels, too - they are just so much less human intensive to extract once the infrastructure is established)
throwiforgtnlzy 3y ago
Residential solar in the US is largely a greenwashing, financialization to exploit homeowners. 99.9% of the time, there is no battery or inverter in these systems and they lack 2/3-way ATCs and instead fail completely without grid power "for safety". Commercial-scale solar is an entirely different beast, and Texas is crushing it post-snowpocalypse, without much thanks to ERCOT. [0] 0. Similarly-timed press-release with a picture of a large deployment: https://www.renewableenergyworld.com/solar/utility-scale/texas-solar-surpasses-coal-production-for-first-time/ https://www.renewableenergyworld.com/solar/utility-scale/tex...
- cyclotron3k 3y ago
  Any idea why rooftop solar hasn't taken off? In Australia it's going gang busters and contributes about 2x the energy of our grid-scale solar.

Please note this is utility scale solar, not random homeowners adding panels to their roofs. These are ~~fossil fuel~~ energy companies investing in and operati

toddmorey 3y ago

Yes we looked at panels for our home but I believe community (off site) solar is the way to go. You essentially buy panels as part of a large farm and the energy they produce is subtracted from your utility bill. No maintenance, no worry about roof angles or which way your house faces. Usually the investment is financed but you still come out ahead each month. Of course need to have a local program and participating power company.

zaphod12 3y ago

That's what is so frustrating about people who oppose renewables - it's super simple capitalism at work. Once prices came down enough, why would you want to have to PAY for the fuel your power plant uses?! Install it and let it go! This is also what's killed coal so effectively - why would any company want to provide all of those good paying jobs when they just don't have to! (this pertains to NG and other fuels, too - they are just so much less human intensive to extract once the infrastructure is established)

throwiforgtnlzy 3y ago

Residential solar in the US is largely a greenwashing, financialization to exploit homeowners. 99.9% of the time, there is no battery or inverter in these systems and they lack 2/3-way ATCs and instead fail completely without grid power "for safety". Commercial-scale solar is an entirely different beast, and Texas is crushing it post-snowpocalypse, without much thanks to ERCOT. [0] 0. Similarly-timed press-release with a picture of a large deployment: https://www.renewableenergyworld.com/solar/utility-scale/texas-solar-surpasses-coal-production-for-first-time/ https://www.renewableenergyworld.com/solar/utility-scale/tex...

cyclotron3k 3y ago
Any idea why rooftop solar hasn't taken off? In Australia it's going gang busters and contributes about 2x the energy of our grid-scale solar.