re: Elon Musk: Tesla can build power grid for Puerto Rico

Solar kWh cost is not there, without tax credits its not even close. And the acreage needed will turn most folks off that would want it to begin with. There wouldn't be enough land on the island to have anything substantial. the panels themselves are made of highly toxic material.

In the SE, if it doesn't rain enough to clean the dust/pollen/bird poop off the efficiency drops tremendously. If they are fixed panels, they produce even less. Places with higher cloud cover drop more. in a bank of 10 panels, if one cracks the whole bank is lowered to that efficiency. Lots of other factors make them not viable.

Truthfully, Nuclear is the safest, most environmentally friendly, and cheapest for the life of the plant. But it has the negative stigma and the fossil industry pushes that.

EE in the utility business.