this post was submitted on 03 Jul 2023
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Community solar IS available. I'm planning on joining up. (slrpnk.net)
submitted 1 year ago by n0m4n to c/solarpunk
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I just discovered a solar project run by my electrical provider, that allows me to pay for a number of grids, and will offset my usage and electric bills. This is a multi-state large publicly traded electric company, not a fly-by-night outfit. Essentially, this is similar to having my own panels, and being plugged in to sell excess kWs, but the panels are in their solar farm, managed, and maintained by the electric company. The break-even is 12 years, and the life is 20 years. The breakdown risks are insured by them. The negatives are that at exactly 20 years, I would have to do it again.

You are the experts. Are there other risks that I do not see?

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[–] n0m4n 1 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

We had our questions answered, and decided to go ahead with the deal.

I doubt that I can build a 12 panel solar collector, the inverter, the tie-ins and electrical panel upgrades, the batteries, the mounting structure, and wiring for $3200, which is 10% electrical capacity above our highest usage to offset the inevitable loss of efficiency by aging equipment. It will pay for our $1100 yearly electric bill and an additional return of $350 as a yearly rebate together, which adds to $1450 yearly return for 20 years (in today's' dollars). The payback is an estimated 45% declining to 40% every year over 20 years.

I also do not have to tie up land, nor maintain the collector, nor worry about vandalism, nor accidental damage. Edit add: An additional government rebate dropped my cost from $4800 to $3200. This swung the offer to be so convincingly enticing.