Solar questions reference thread

The Watercooler
#1

There’s always new people looking into solar, and on discord, I thought it would be a good thread to point people in the right direction instead of repeating ourselves. Please feel free to add anything solar related.

Everyone asks if they should get solar

If you’re not going to DIY, then get quotes and also get estimates of how many MW you will produce over 25 years. Keep in mind panels will degrade over time and the ones I’m referencing degrades to 80% over 25 years. 550w Solar Panel Green Bank 96 Cells Mono Crystalline AU stock

It’s important to get estimates detailed for your area because everyone’s location is different

So let’s say you’ve been quoted $50k for a system that produces 30MW per year, the system will produce 750MW over 25 years

So the price divided by 25 year production, $50,000/750,000=0.066, this means it will cost you 6.6c/kw you produce over 25 years.

The same applies with batteries, except their life expectancy is cycles, normally rated with 6500 cycles but you need to check.

This means if you have a Tesla that charges 13kw 6500 times, it will store 84.5MW in its lifetime. So if it costs you $5k for a Tesla power wall, $5000/84500= 0.059, meaning it costs 5.9c/kw stored and discharged.

Hopefully this will help people understand their pricing better

#2

Installer here. Just wanted to point out that in many places, crypto mining is a business and could qualify for the USDA REAP grant. This is a federal subsidy that has been extended for three additional years and covers 50% of your total system cost. There is also a 30-50% tax credit on renewable energy systems. In Kentucky, most of the area I cover qualifies for a 40% tax credit if you are in forget coal country. You can also possibly depreciate your business system over several years.

For people who are not interested in DIY install, these incentives make it affordable to have a company install solar. You CAN DIY and still qualify for these incentives, you just have to make sure you can in your jurisdiction.

I am not a tax professional so ALWAYS consult with your tax professional before you take any advice from someone on the internet.