Let's get something out of the way. The #1 argument why solar is NOT as widespread as it should be is because the price of solar is "too high".
Well, I have been thinking a lot about this topic a lot and I have come to a firm conclusion. While solar power costs are an easy thing to blame, the allegedly 'high' price is not the reason. In fact, solar prices has fallen over 300 times since the 1970s (from $100/Wp to $0.33/Wp today). Meanwhile, the cost of burning fossil fuels has increased 16X in comparison to the same period of time. Yet, 90% of the world's electricity still comes from burning fossil fuels.
This explains why your electricity rates has only been going up every year!
So... if solar prices isn't the reason. What is?
Here is my take.
Reason #1 - Frankly, people don't know what solar power can do.
Chances are this might be you and if it is, I don't blame you.
Before I made renewable energy my career, the only applications I had seen solar power being reliably used is on my pocket calculator, atop some parking ticket machines and perhaps some camping gear where you can use it to charge a smartphone or power up some lights while in the forest.
Now if I were to replace the electricity in your home completely with solar... what are your thoughts?
- Do you think it is possible? Not possible?
- Is it stable? Will there be enough sunshine?
- Can it cover my air conditioning costs?
- What is your confidence level if the switch were to happen right now? High or low?
So the truth of the matter is most people still do not know what solar power can do today.
- They do not know what is possible.
- They do not know what is available from a global perspective.
- They do not know what is available from a local perspective.
In 2016, Elon Musk demonstrated a fully solar-powered home using TESLA and SolarCity products. This video left me in complete awe. How about you?
This is not meant to be a promotion of TESLA or any one brand. My goal is to show you what is possible and that technology-wise, it is not a barrier.
But even with the best technology in place, it is still not enough to spur solar to become our main source of electricity.
And this is because of...
Reason #2 - "It's not my job to change it."
If any change were to happen, my electric company should sort it out. Not me.
My electric company should bear the costs of the new solar power equipment. Not me.
I believe this is the common attitude shared by most electricity consumers. Even if solar prices continue to drop, they would not take it up.
Why?
Because this has always been "the way" since the invention of the electric light bulb. We rely on the electric company to build the power plants, generate all the electricity we need and deliver it to us, for a fee we pay monthly.
This is practiced throughout the world and for more than a century, hence it is normal if you cannot imagine an alternative. There are, however, two caveats if this traditional mindset continues
You will never have the choice of the kind of electricity that you want, e.g. solar. That's because the electricity company will always make the decision on your behalf. You'll end up waiting for positive change that might never arrive - as history has repeatedly shown.
When electric companies build solar power plants, these projects are large, infrequent and there are only a few of them. Hence I ask:
- How many people can truly benefit from this?
- How many long-lasting jobs would it create?
- How can an industry thrive when there are only one or two projects where the whole town would be fighting over for?
- How would it ever come to mainstream consumer? How would it spur innovation?
Solar power adoption would never reach a critical mass at this rate.
Reason #3 - Not enough financial incentive.
As mentioned above, in my 8 years of experience in the renewable energy sector, I have found price to be the most common albeit weakest argument.
It has never been about price.
Instead, it is about return on investment (ROI).
In 2012, the government of Malaysia introduced a program where if you produced solar power from your rooftop and fed it into the national grid, you can sell that electricity to the sole incumbent electric company at up to 5X the rate you consume (that's a huge profit!). Adding to the fact that each approval is made bonafide with a 21-year contract, it was a program that guaranteed a 21-year cashflow-positive passive income to reward solar power producers.
It was an immensely popular scheme but approvals were limited to about only 2,500 houses a year. Because of the high incentive and scarcity of approvals, applications were taken up within seconds at every opportunity. This scheme came to a halt in 2016 when the government announced it had no more budget to support new applications.
I was sad when I heard this announcement but it did taught me one invaluable lesson.
As long as the incentive is strong, the market will naturally find its way to overcome the price barrier.
In this case, it only took a 5X opportunity to move a market. In 2012, at least 300 new solar power companies were formed that year. By 2013, euphoria kicked in and that was when applications were taken up like hot cakes.
I take these as signs and clues to make my next project a success.
The Future is Bright But We Must Make It Happen
My vision remains clear - a solar power system in every home.
To achieve this vision, my plan is to
(1) Generate more conversations through good written content on Steemit
(2) Speak at events regularly to drive up awareness and interest
(3) Develop an ecosystem blockchain with a structure similar to Steemit that rewards cryptocurrencies to both producers and consumers of renewable energy.
I look forward to the day when it just makes complete sense to go to the hardware store, buy some solar power equipment and jump into the network. Start generating your own electricity, cut your monthly bills, share any excess with your neighbors and make money.
I'd love to share more details on my blockchain project soon. Meanwhile, let's make this a conversation. Please leave a comment and share this post.
Tell me:
- Do you like this vision?
- How do you think we can achieve this vision?
- How do you think blockchain can help with this vision?
I'm very excited to hear your views on this. Appreciate it.
Buzz
Photo credits:
Solar panels: zakzak7 on Visualhunt.com / CC BY
Elon Musk: jdlasica on Visualhunt / CC BY
If u ever start an initiative involving solar energy count me in.
Me too.. I would also be in! That's actually the main reason for me to have joint steemit.. hence my name.. ;-)
Thanks @perennial @solarwarrior! This vision needs all the support it can get. 😉
Great write up . A lot of people feel that they dont have the skill or knowledge to do but instead of learning the way to they choose to get on facebook and look at funny pictures for example. People now days have all of the knowledge quite literally in the palm of there hands but they choose to not use this knowlege . Solar has a ways to go . There is an upfront cost for sure . Im here in the U.S i installed my self for less than 10 grand and got a few grand back in Tax rebates. It was a wining situation for me . No power bill for a few hours per night researching . Then a few hours per night (after working all day )putting up a solar panel or two maybe some racking , wire etc. I put in the effort i didnt know a thing about solar i just knew from a very young age that it was what i was going to do to keep from paying a light bill when there was something out there that could prevent this from happening.
Thanks @nokiasixteth. You are leading a great example yourself!
What is the tax rebate like in the US?
30% by 12/31/2019
26% after 12/31/2019 and before 01/01/2021
22% after 12/31/2020 and before 01/01/2022
I paid exactly $7794 for my 5kw system with the 30 percent rebate $2338
$5456 total investment.
100% power use covered by solar.
Battery backup later on to come we are blessed with a very reliable power grid until we have a drunk run into a light pole. Thats what happened with the last power outage. :)
30 percent on everything that you had to do to get the solar once completed. If new construction you cant claim the construction at all . If you modified existing for the solar it can be claimed for the modification . Many different hoops .
Mine was quite simple for hooking to the grid . Very few here use solar for now . Thankfully i where i live its not ruled by people who have nothing better to do than tell others what they can do on there place no home owners association just good old fashion help the other neighbor when they need help power company just comes out changes a few things checks the stickers(several required ) then off to the races it is.
I see.
So, you receive a one-time tax rebate against the capital investment of your solar power system at the time you bought it. Is this correct?
You also mention that you do not have battery backup yet. Thus your solar power system must be connected directly to the grid. What is that process like? Was it easy or difficult?
@nokiasixteth One year later, I am developing a cryptocurrency for renewable energy producers and supporters. We have entered Phase 1 of the project - The Pioneer Round. Come join my movement, be a Pioneer and claim your just rewards today.
Hi @buzz.lightyear. It’s good to see u today ;) excellent topic of discussion since we’re into a dire situation of fighting for sustainability
It's a tough fight @deborism. However, I am guilty of optimism. Change starts with us ;)
Excellent write up Jason!
Our reason for not switching is because of the cost mainly, but also because there are a LOT of trees on neighbors property that block our southern and western exposure.
I'm working on sell off about 70% of what is in this house so I can downsize and get further out from the city. Having proper access to the sun will be a major deciding factor on where I buy.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts @sotall
True. Not all countries have abundant sunshine like Malaysia (4 hours peak sunshine). That is why I find a decentralized future an exciting prospect. We do not rely on one house or building - but as a whole, a community that shares and support one another.
Imagine for example in a street of houses, one might think typically every house should contribute the same amount of electricity to the neighbourhood. In reality, this would not be the case as you quite rightly pointed out no one house is the same and share the same conditions (e.g. your neighbours' trees are shading yours and its beyond your control).
So imagine a network that incentivises in a way that the more a house produces, the more they are rewarded. That way, it incentivises a producer to go out of their way and do more when others can't. Only when there are strong enough incentives will innovations take place and look into different options of solar equipment to maximise their reward.
Currently there are few reward systems in the world. It is my goal to create a sustainable one. 😉
Where are you from??
Congratulations! Your post has been selected as a daily Steemit truffle! It is listed on rank 17 of all contributions awarded today. You can find the TOP DAILY TRUFFLE PICKS HERE.
I upvoted your contribution because to my mind your post is at least 10 SBD worth and should receive 63 votes. It's now up to the lovely Steemit community to make this come true.
I am
TrufflePig, an Artificial Intelligence Bot that helps minnows and content curators using Machine Learning. If you are curious how I select content, you can find an explanation here!Have a nice day and sincerely yours,
TrufflePigYou are a very cool bot @trufflepig @smcaterpillar. What is your advice so that I might improve my ranking?
Good question. Do you mean your trufflepig ranking or getting more votes in general? The former is not so easy to answer, but a good idea is to look for well-paid posts in @trufflepig's training data (check out his weekly post were he lists the time range of his training) and try to understand and follow their style and topics. Likewise if you check-out his daily top-list about posts that achieve a high payouts without using bots and self-votes may be helpful. This can give a good guidance since he considers these as quality content and tries to derive features from these.
Unfortunately, for improving your payouts, I guess currently the answer is by using bid bots and promoting your posts with vote selling services. In the long run you increase your payouts, however, by regularly posting quality content and gathering a loyal follower base.
Thanks @smcaterpillar!
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My job is to convert upvotes in solar energy.
Hi @solarcoach, that sounds like a noble effort. What happens next?
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