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>That isn’t trivial. Thank you. So often when discussing solar (or EVs) we see bizarre extrapolations of potential install rates that don't account for the fac

>That isn’t trivial. Thank you. So often when discussing solar (or EVs) we see bizarre extrapolations of potential install rates that don't account for the fact that huge swaths of the country (the majority of places here in Canada) have real challenges with installation. These are not insurmountable, by any means. But those challenges are reflected in overall cost, making some of economics less favourable.

lazide 2y ago
It’s always easy if we don’t know/talk about the hard parts! In my experience, the panels themselves are at most 1/4 of the cost of any given system, even when discounting labor and permitting costs.
- naasking 2y ago
  What proportion of the costs are down to permitting?
  - lazide 2y ago
    From 50% (or more) to 5% (or less) depending on local jurisdiction and scale. If they want it to happen and aren’t greedy? It’s rarely a major problem. Otherwise, sky is the limit. I know of a couple sizable projects that finally got cancelled because the local AHJ (authority having jurisdiction) finally just got too greedy. In one case they threw on an extra couple hundred grand worth of city park improvements as a requirement on a couple million dollar (small) project. Developer ended up walking away, as that was the fourth time they did that. Some folks just can’t help but make it lose/lose.
    - naasking 2y ago
      So it sounds like large scale deployments have a larger proportion of the cost be due to permitting, and smaller scale (like on a house), would be fairly low by comparison.
      - lazide 2y ago
        Not really. It depends on how hard you can be squeezed, and how much they want to squeeze you. Most large scale installations (if they’re smart) will be in areas where the planning authorities don’t have a lot of leverage. Most residential installations (if they’re smart) will be in areas where it’s politically untenable to squeeze homeowners for outrageous fees. Then you have the other places. Either way, even large fees for a larger installation will be a small percentage of the total. $2000 worth of fees for a homeowner will be outrageous percentage wise.
  - PaulDavisThe1st 2y ago
    For my residential 6.6kW ground mount array, less than 0.9%

lazide 2y ago

It’s always easy if we don’t know/talk about the hard parts! In my experience, the panels themselves are at most 1/4 of the cost of any given system, even when discounting labor and permitting costs.

naasking 2y ago
What proportion of the costs are down to permitting?
- lazide 2y ago
  From 50% (or more) to 5% (or less) depending on local jurisdiction and scale. If they want it to happen and aren’t greedy? It’s rarely a major problem. Otherwise, sky is the limit. I know of a couple sizable projects that finally got cancelled because the local AHJ (authority having jurisdiction) finally just got too greedy. In one case they threw on an extra couple hundred grand worth of city park improvements as a requirement on a couple million dollar (small) project. Developer ended up walking away, as that was the fourth time they did that. Some folks just can’t help but make it lose/lose.
  - naasking 2y ago
    So it sounds like large scale deployments have a larger proportion of the cost be due to permitting, and smaller scale (like on a house), would be fairly low by comparison.
    - lazide 2y ago
      Not really. It depends on how hard you can be squeezed, and how much they want to squeeze you. Most large scale installations (if they’re smart) will be in areas where the planning authorities don’t have a lot of leverage. Most residential installations (if they’re smart) will be in areas where it’s politically untenable to squeeze homeowners for outrageous fees. Then you have the other places. Either way, even large fees for a larger installation will be a small percentage of the total. $2000 worth of fees for a homeowner will be outrageous percentage wise.
- PaulDavisThe1st 2y ago
  For my residential 6.6kW ground mount array, less than 0.9%