Maybe slightly unrelated, but I've done a lot of road trips throughout the US, and there is so much land that is used unproductively, it's really incredible. Land that could be used for energy, food, or housing, just sitting empty or with abandoned structures.

Imagine if we just paid people to coat their properties in solar panels - throw them on your roof, lawn, wherever you have the space. We could drive energy prices down to nothing. We could pay people to install ADUs. The resources are there, but the imagination and commitment are not.

Instead, I'm looking at a $40k+ solar install for my very small house and a breakeven on investment in maybe 10 years for a house I probably won't live in by then.

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WalterBright 3 hours ago | parent [-]

> We could drive energy prices down to nothing.

Not when you're paying people to coat their properties in solar panels. As you noted, that would cost plenty.

Solar panels also degrade over time. By the time the "free" electricity has paid for the installation, you'll need to replace it.

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AndrewDucker 3 hours ago | parent | next [-]

Payback time in Scotland is 6-ish years. Same seems to be true in Massachusetts. Solar Panels have a lifespan of around 25 years. Inverters may need to be replaced sooner than that, but still last at least a decade.

So it pays for itself 3-4 times over.

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hunterpayne 30 minutes ago | parent [-]

There is no way that is true unless those solar panels are very subsidized. The energy needed to make a PV is 2x what that panel would harvest over its entire lifetime in Scotland for example. Scotland is a terrible place for PV. The numbers you give are probably accurate for central Mexico though. Also, the mean lifetime of a PV panel is 20 years.

	▲	lisplist 7 minutes ago \| parent \| next [-]
		We spend billions every year in gas subsidies. We spend billions every year in food subsidies. For energy independence and the carbon reduction alone, this is a worthwhile investment even if the upfront costs are substantial.
	▲	AndrewDucker 9 minutes ago \| parent \| prev [-]
		Your information appears to be 20 years out of date.

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amanaplanacanal 3 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

How often do you think solar panels need to be replaced?

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g8oz 2 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

>>By the time the "free" electricity has paid for the installation, you'll need to replace it.

You are going to have to back this up with credible citations. Otherwise it sounds like skepticism from 2008.