OK show of hands, how many people here are really dumb enough to think that PV panels are cheap or getting cheaper? Anyone? Bueller? Bueller?
PV panels are very, very expensive. It's just that the consumer does not directly pay for them, the TAXPAYER pays for them for the consumer.
Take a gander at this from Stanford university:
http://www.stanford.edu/~kgilling/BollingerGillingham_PeerEffectsSolar.pdf
Quote:
Clustering of Solar PV Panels in California
While solar PV technology has had a long history in California, it was not until the late 1990s and early 2000s that the California solar PV panel market really gained a foothold.
In 1997 the California Energy Commission (CEC) Emerging Renewables Program subsidized
solar PV installations with a $3 per Watt (W) rebate, to be renewed year-by-year.
In 1998, California added “net metering,” allowing owners of solar PV systems to receive
credit for electricity sold back to the grid. In 2001, an up to 15% state tax credit
was added.
In January 2006, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) established
the California Solar Initiative (CSI), the $3.3 billion, 10-year rebate program aiming
to “install 3,000 MW of new solar over the next decade and to transform the market for
solar energy by reducing the cost of solar” (CPUC 2009).
On top of this, the Federal Energy Policy Act of 2005 created a 30% tax credit for residential and commercial solar PV installations, but with a $2,000 limit, which was subsequently lifted in 2008.
These substantial subsidies have contributed to the dramatic growth in annual solar PV adoptions over the past decade, from less than 1,000 residential installation per year in 2001 to almost 12,000 per year in 2009.
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To summarize, this is what a solar panel REALLY COSTS:
$3 per watt rebate
Net metering, buying back the excess at MUCH HIGHER RATES than normal
15% tax credit
$3.3 billion direct subsidy in California alone
30% federal tax credit
So, if the taxpayer was not forced to pay for nearly all of these solar panels, how many do you think there would be?
NONE!
No one would be stoopid enuogh to waste money installing these extremely expensive and innefficient and unreliable systems if the gubmint didn't steal our money and waste it by paying for other people's solar systems.