Posted on 08/13/2018 5:32:31 AM PDT by reaganaut1
California’s energy regulators effectively cooked the books to justify their recent command that all homes built in the Golden State after 2020 be equipped with solar panels. Far from a boon to homeowners, the costs to builders and home buyers will likely far exceed the benefits to the state.
The California Energy Commission, which approved the rule as part of new energy-efficiency regulations, didn’t conduct an objective, independent investigation of the policy’s effects. Instead it relied on economic analysis from the consultancy that proposed the policy, Energy and Environmental Economics Inc. Its study concluded that home buyers get a 100% investment return—paying $40 more in monthly mortgage costs but saving $80 a month on electricity. If it’s such a good deal, why aren’t home buyers clamoring for more panels already? Most new homes aren’t built with solar panels today, even though the state is saturated by solar marketing.
The Energy Commission is too optimistic about the cost of panels. It assumes the cost was $2.93 a watt in 2016 and will decline 17% by 2020. Yet comprehensive analysis of panel costs by the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory estimated the average cost of installed panels to be $4.50 a watt for the 2- to 4-kilowatt systems the policy mandates. That is $4,000 more than regulators claim for a 2.6-kilowatt model system in the central part of the state, where 20% of new homes are expected to be built. Berkeley Lab further estimates that costs fell a mere 1% between 2015 and 2016, far short of the 4% average annual decline the regulators predict.
Now consider the alleged savings on energy bills. The commission’s analysis assumes California will maintain its net energy-metering policy, which effectively subsidizes electricity produced by a rooftop solar panel.
(Excerpt) Read more at wsj.com ...
And most of these studies ignore the maintenance factor that panels would have to be replaced every so often, and those panels are expensive.
My neighbor in Florida had solar panels to heat his pool and the maintenance guys were there pretty much every year at least once.
Query.....
Were the pool water heating panels actually solar collectors that circulate water through a solar heat exchanger or did the panels generate electricity that inturn provided resistance heat to warm the water?
I would bet the former.
I think ya’ got a little apples and oranges goin’ here.
>>The answer here is simple, Homeowners should be allowed to SUE this Company for Damages for this blatant fraudulent assessment.
Most likely the company is nothing but a shell created specifically to produce this blatantly fraudulent assessment. There would likely be no assets to seize.
Need more electricity production as Americans are forced into electric (cattle) cars.
They get their just deserts...or....desserts......
Last I read solar panels are good for about 15 years.
Keeping the panels clean is very important for power production. Dirt absorbs light and dust can scratch the panels permanently reducing power production.
Solar Panel owners should be hosing off their panels about once a week which might be hard to do if they are on your roof.
Just imagine the people with solar panels in California today whose panels haven’t seen the sun in weeks because of the forest fires.
“Solar Panel owners should be hosing off their panels about once a week which might be hard to do if they are on your roof.”
And the State will criminally charge the person for excessive water use.
You can’t have trees blocking the light either, many of these single level houses on small lots won’t be able to have trees.
Think about how that is going to affect air quality.
It will also raise the cost of air conditioning because the home will not be shaded.
Seems like a catch-22. More power usage or more power production?
Which way to go?
Only if the water ends up on the grass. 😉
Can’t read that through the pay wall.
I don’t know; they were my neighbors.
Whatever
I’ve installed over 1000 systems from 1 to 500 kw
Solar panels work
If you don’t like thrm
Kiss your utilities ass
metoo
I’ve got a lot of land to play with.
A couple of reels of 200’ * 2” black plastic pipe uncoiled on the ground did a FANTASTIC job of heating the pool I had.
Huge dangers involved with tehse system - heat, high voltage/current, complicated electronics, maintenance hazards
Projections of the Insurance costs needed/added for these ‘mandated’ solar houses will be covered up (and for more fun stuff like paperwork/inspections, service calls, and yet more government meddling).
The politicos will go home feeling good from the stupids who vote for them for shams/scams like this, but people’s lives will be lost and more middlemen will be enabled and regulation lasting ‘til the end of time’ (or the leftist’s time, which might be up really soon).
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