Have a co-worker who paid $20,000 for a system here in the Albuquerque metro area. He gets a base bill every month (basically a meter charge) of about $10 from the electric company. Prior electric bills averaged $150/month throughout the year. So about $1,800/year in electric (rates are rising, too). He'll get a return on that $20,000 in just over 11 years, or less, with rates going up annually.
How much money will he have to spend keeping the panels operating? And at what point will they have to be replaced?
Except that the equipment has a working life span of about 8-10 years. And that $20,000 cost is probably financed by the solar company with a 30-year lien on the property at 6% annual interest.
Most solar electric installations have a negative return-on-investment.
Yes, as an electrical user up in CO I have to send money to many of those same kind of people here.
Pisses me off having to do that.
Why the hell can’t I just get my electricity from cheap coal fired plants instead of being forced to subsidize these guys out of my own bank account?