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Comment by vamur | Hacker News Reader

Retail solar power is not viable currently. Cheapest reputable panel on aliexpress is about $1.2K for 1KW. Lead-acid on Amazon is about $500 per 1KWH (not counting shipping). Assuming backup of 30KWH it would require about $16.2K without inverters, cables, installation or shipping. And with these it can be 20-30K+.

So it is not surprising that retail solar is not viable without subsidies. Which are in essence wealth transfer from the poor to richer early adopters. On top of that it is a headache for grid operators who have to account for unpredictable inputs from retail solar power users.

Instead of the overly expensive retail solar power it would be better if subsidies went to the far cheaper solar powered ACs, solar panel water heaters, urban and outdoor lightning.

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Subsidies for early adopters are a way to finance early productionization so that the industry can grow to become more efficient in the future at which point everyone else enjoys cheaper energy. Early adopters paying full price is a subsidy gift to late adopters who don't take on the risk.

Storage is not required for retail solar, just grid-tie. All the non-carbon systems require subsidy.

The solar subsidy has been hugely effective at reducing prices.

Grid-tie is not a magical energy storage. It's actually a headache for grid operators.

Panel prices have dropped due to competition between Chinese and German manufacturers and large scale solar power plant projects, such as the 600MW power plant in India. So subsidies to retail sector have miniscule effect on prices. Also, if the goal of subsidies was to reduce prices then it'd be better to spend them on projects to reduce panel/storage prices and investments in solar power plants.

reducing prices, or shifting prices to the rest of the population, regardless of energy use?

Reducing the price of solar for future installations.

Yes, the overall cost of energy would be less with an all-fossil system, but that's no longer acceptable.

It reminds me of the CFL debacle of the past 10 years: expensive, inconvenient, dangerous technology that never realizes it's promised long term value. LED lights are a far better solution that only took a few extra years to make practical. Everybody getting solar panel now is going to be embarrassed when the core tech (the research we should subsidize!) advances to make existing installations obsolete.

Why is solar powered AC cheaper than solar powered mains circuit?

It can be purchased piecemeal, can only run during the sunlight, and requires little storage and space. As opposed to purchasing and installing solar panels and storage.

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