Quote:
Originally Posted by Dotneko
We installed 175 solar panels on the 200 ft long barn roof on our farm in Massachusetts in 2014 or so. With SRECs included, our entire energy needs were met with money coming in to us. 8 year payback. We were able to convert our oil furnace to electric. Our typical February electric bill (before converting the house) was $2500.00. Granted, we had a large horse farm with 70X200ft indoor riding arena, apartment and heated barn. But solar was a huge saving for us!
If we had 3phase on the street, we would have done more and sold back to the grid.
This was with the panels covered by snow about 3 months a year. I dont understand why there wasnt a trickle charge melting the snow to allow continuous daily production.
There were only a certain number of net metering setups allowed yearly.
Hail didnt happen often in MA, but I still dont know why we dont have more panels here in FL.
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In the end, economics always wins. Solar power generation is economically feasible only at scale over the long run. Smaller installations are not good short-term investments currently, and maybe never, as the marginal cost of current electricity sources is lower.
Ironically, environmentalists are at odds over renewable energy that results in practical problems. To get power from large solar panel farms (and wind farms) to areas of high populations, where electricity is in highest demand, requires large new investment in transmission line infrastructure. Environmentalists generally don’t like new construction of transmission lines because it disrupts animals, environment, and so on. The government permitting process for new transmission lines over large areas is long and costly.
Also, solar power only works during daylight when the sun shines, Battery storage systems are needed for power consumption during non-daylight hours and overcast days. Although battery costs are falling, they are hugely expensive for large installations. Someone has to pay for all the costs. (I doubt most SECO customers want to pay more now for possible payback in the distant future.)
Almost certainly, the main reason we do not see more solar power generation in the USA is economics. Without even more government intervention, the private sector will not make solar happen at scale because of economics.