Green Energy

I think a potential solution or workaround could be to opt for cooperatively owned large solar installations, but this would require buy-in from a community to get it started, and is something those subsidies would've made easier.

Still, it could be that only a portion of your power bill is covered by the solar coop, making the initial price from each member lower. Then more panels could be added slowly as members choose to invest small amounts each month, until over time all of their power usage is from solar.

The United States may find a path forward by pursuing market conditions like Australia, where over 40% of homes in some regions have rooftop solar. Soft costs are far lower in the nation, and average residential solar installation cost was $0.89 per W, more than $2.00 per W cheaper than both Canada and the United States.

That path requires oligarchist monopoly utilities to have less influence on oligarchist political parties. Biden's approach of creating a new green energy manufacturing oligarchy protection doesn't help with low prices that could be achieved if main utility monopoly obstruction to home solar were removed. FF Oligarchy assists utility monopolies in their lobbying for centralized power production. It is not within US political corruption overton window to help citizens escape extortion.

Here in Texas, leasing solar is a scam and there are no meaningful savings unless adding decent batteries often not provided by the leasing companies.

Instead, we chose a provider that offers 100% green electricity.

Solar is the one path to free us from dependency to Big Oil

They therefore must be shut down

Not surprised, the several quotes I got to install them on my roof were crazy. Could have got a new roof like twice for the price of putting solar on top. And this was a couple years ago before all these new tariffs.

A 20 year break-even timeline isn't much of a value proposition.

Dune: Awakening. The real question here is why are there no solar panels on a planet that literally roasts you if you go out uncovered?

So to summarise the challenges the industry is facing:

• Tariffs on Aluminium - Trump
• Tariffs on Solar imports - Trump
• Sudden loss of federal grants that covered 30% of the cost for installation (was due to run til 2030 now slashed) - Trump
• Slashing of the fees owners get for selling money to the grid by 75% - Oil industry lobbying / Trump
• Removal of investment credits which have specifically been stripped from solar but not other energy investments - Trump

To call this "macro economic" issues is bizarre. All of this is due to government policy and actions. It's also notable that the rest of the world's solar industry is not collapsing. Trump.and the republicans are selling out US consumers to prop up the oil industry and tax cuts for the rich.

Currently living in the sunniest city in the world, but had to pass on solar panels. Choices are to either buy outright or lease. The lease option is predatory as hell, but the cost of buying and maintaining outweighs the eventual savings because the power company monopoly keeps juking credits. American fuckery strikes again.

are solar panels still so cheap in China that they're replacing fences

Yeah I got an email from our solar panel company that they’re filing for bankruptcy. I just hope whoever picks them up doesn’t jack up lease prices to make up for it.

Man if only we had cheaper solar panels. Its too bad no one produces those