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The insolation requred to get decent return is often overstated on the internet - you generally see over 1000kwh for a 1kw system over a year, only dropping to
by kimixa 7mo ago
The insolation requred to get decent return is often overstated on the internet - you generally see over 1000kwh for a 1kw system over a year, only dropping to ~900 in scotland. California only really gets 40-50% more useful energy out. Sure, it's less, but often close enough that it can still make sense - and more dependant on local energy and PV system costs than anything else.
The idea that you need constant, overhead, wall-to-wall sunshine isn't really true for current systems. In fact, somewhere nearer the equator the effeciency drops significantly for PV systems (even if the total power output increases slightly) as the "extra" light isn't really useful.
- lm28469 7mo ago> 1000kwh for a 1kw system over a year That will net you a whole $100 a year, probably less in most places
- kimixa 7mo agoSelling back to the grid, maybe. But if displacing your own use, 10p/kwh is a pipe dream in the UK, more like 25p+. And my point is more that in that example price/kwh, the "best" location only returns $150 or so for that same system. Sure, worth keeping in mind for payback calculations, but not really a "category change" - power prices vary more than that proportion between the countries involved. And certainly not the whole multiples a pure insolation chart might imply.