Why The Residential Solar Industry Is In Danger Of Imploding

This $30 billion industry is built on a shaky foundation of cheap money, questionable accounting and aggressive claims for federal tax credits. With money no longer cheap, subsidies a matter of politics and swirling allegations of fraud, a collapse could be coming soon.

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[computron]

"What’s happened since California cut home solar payments? Demand has plunged 80%" - That's the headline of a Calmatters article. Who would've expected an industry that's dependent on subsidies from local and federal government, large payouts from utilities for customers that get subsidized by all the other grid users would drop like a rock when those incentives stop?

[SynthToshi]

Southern California Edison's Non-Compliance with NEM 2.0 Guidelines: Solar Customers Charged Instead of Receiving One-for-One Credits, SCE is a scam.

[DynmcStudio]

I'm not sure who's making the edits but if you could please add visuals when talking about the numbers. It'd be easier to understand how much "14% down" look like.

[andreapaul]

Blah blah blah
Solar capacity is increasing. Most people who can afford it are prepared to pay the ever decreasing costs. Likewise storage battery technology, capacity & cost. So are community grids. because energy independence from price gouging polluting super corporations is so worth paying for.

[wanscott]

In my opinion, the present rooftop photovoltaic companies are akin to the early days of the Internet bubble. It's only when the Virtual power plant (VPP) industry standard is established, and everyone realizes that VPP has the potential to significantly impact the power grid, that we truly recognize the worth of residential rooftop photovoltaic companies.

[johnny.d.]

The residential solar market would not even be possible if it wasn't subsidized by the government. The grift is up.

[nowhereman]

"Solar industry" is a really nice way to say "solar rip off". Don't let them put solar panels on your property, They charge you $60, 000 to bring their equipment onto your property, and make money off that equipment, and all you get is a bill. You won't even have power if there's an outage, all the power from "your" solar panels goes directly to the electric grid.

[economistfromhell]

Gordon Johnson lacks credibility after the Tesla debacle - he proves no information to back his position - if this is all Forbes is relying on it needs to do some homework!

[eddiekulp]

I'll tell you why, pay 100 a month for 20 or 30 years to save maybe 100 a month on power bill . Solar panels wear out to soon and then what, do again?

[containedhurricane]

The government had better fund the research of space-based solar panel technology, instead of subsidizing residential solar panel industry

[aVetOnAroof]

"You don't know who's swimming naked, until the tide comes in" - SAYS EVERY SINGLE ELECTRIC COMPANY THAT IS LOSING REVENUE DUE TO SOLAR.

[budstep]

Tight video, keep em good and people might trust the mainstream media somewhere down the line

[tankndg]

your info on the panel's performance are not realistic and misleading....