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Falling panel prices lead to global solar boom, except for the US

(arstechnica.com)
249 points Jtsummers | 1 comments | 30 Oct 25 16:32 UTC | HN request time: 0.207s | source
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umvi ◴[30 Oct 25 17:03 UTC] No.45762286[source]▶
Has storage been solved yet? In my experience US power companies hate crediting pushback to the grid because it all happens at the same time during peak sunlight hours and then customers get to use those credits at night and during the winter which the power company thinks is unfair. In Idaho at least the power companies were able to change the laws so that you get much fewer credits for solar panels on your roof which means they aren't great unless you can figure out how to store the generated energy inexpensively.

Personally I like the idea of an electric car doubling as a house battery but so far I think only the F-150 lightning is capable of doing that.

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1. GloriousKoji ◴[30 Oct 25 17:54 UTC] No.45762945[source]▶
Places in California has this problem too. Installing solar panels today could result in a larger electricity bill than not having them.

Getting solar panels forces you onto a plan in which they charge more per kwh pulled from the grid. The surplus electricity is only credited at the generation cost which is only 1/4 the total cost per kwh. (Delivery costs is 3x the price of electricity).

So if you want to go solar to save money you need both batteries and solar panels which is not an insignificant amount of money.