re: Marjorie Taylor Greene mocked for suggesting solar and wind energy don’t work at night

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You’re electrical or mechanical?

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Mechanical, but got into the finance side after business school.

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ok. WTF are we talking about then?

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You were talking about the market; he was not.

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Are you arguing the tech is shite or that we shouldn't give be a one time tax break for investing in their own power generation?

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To make this look affordable up front its subsidized by the american taxpayer. Its just more welfare.

You know what Im arguing. Stop playing games.

Residential solar, for the VAST majority of people doesnt pencil out in the US without substantial government intervention. That intervention is doing more to drive solar acquisition prices up than it is to stimulate the technology. The political impulse behind renewables has nothing to do with the environment, and everything to do with co-opting the energy economy.

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Welfare is direct pay. You get an ITC to offset taxes you otherwise would have owed. If you don't have the tax burden, you don't get anything. It's no different than SALT deductions.

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Its corporate welfare. Its welfare for the companies, not the customer.

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Residential solar, for the VAST majority of people doesnt pencil out in the US without substantial government intervention.

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I notice you never speak to real numbers, instead speak in definitive terms without any actual direct knowledge or data. The application of solar is highly dependent on location, utility rates and NEM, etc. I've always said that. You're arguing against some fictional boogey man. And the ITC does make it financially viable in many cases. Much like the PTC will do for Nuclear and monopolies have done for utility companies, etc. I actually prefer the ITC over those because the consumer can gets the benefit directly rather than hoping it passes through the corp to the consumer.

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That intervention is doing more to drive solar acquisition prices up than it is to stimulate the technology

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You're going to need some real information to back this up. I'm not saying acquisition prices haven't inflated, but modules and inverters in both capacity, reliability, etc. have gone nuts over the past few years. Development of MLPE alone was a huge advancement.

I’m not doing this with you anymore. You have a financial interest in solar so I’m not going to go round and round trying to convince you of the obvious.

If your products were so cost effective, there wouldn’t be billions in aid being thrown around to incentivize people to buy them. And in spite of that, only 1.6% of US energy production is solar. That’s it. That’s the evidence. The market chooses fossil over 80% of the time.

I’m genuinely happy your business is doing well.

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People that bitch about the big bad energy companies act like the solar companies are just in the game for unicorns and roses. You're just feeding a different set of greedy politicians/lobbyists.

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Solar companies don't have entire regions monopolized. I wasn't planning on doing solar in Florida, but Gulf Power (FPL) can eat my arse.

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Do you think you'll have zero maintenance, repairs/replacement in those 25 years? Zero failure of some component?

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Do you think you have that now?

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You know good and well the average system cant sniff that. You also know the average Joe cant afford that.

If they could, EVERYONE would be installing these systems, but barely anyone is. The market doesnt lie.

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And...THAT is the reality and entire problem. And even if Indy Solar ever become widespread, it wouldn't stop the local /national/global Bureaucracies from swooping in and micro-regulating / taxing Solar Systems and "excess power" up the wazoo.

As you'd noted, the "investment" that independent Solar requires just isn't feasible to Joe Six Pack. And anyhoo -- the majority has already been deeply conditioned to rely on their Electric Company for their electric/power needs.