When customers get tax breaks, reduced rates, cash incentives or other subsidies to install solar power on their house, the real money is coming from other rate and tax payers.
Case in point - from PV Tech:
Nevada rooftop solar shifts US$36 million annually onto non-solar users, study says
Rooftop solar customers cost non-solar ratepayers in Nevada US$36 million a year, according to the results of a cost-benefit study on solar by Energy + Environmental Economics (E3).
The US$67,000 study was commissioned by the Nevada Board of Examiners as an update to the 2014 study by the same independent contractors that then found a US$36 million benefit to non-solar ratepayers from rooftop systems rather than a cost. Identical methodology was employed in both studies, whilst using current data from NV Energy. The new report also found an additional US$15 million cost to grandfather existing net metering customers under the previous rate structure.
From benefit to bust in two years - plus, that addtional $15 million brings it to a total burdon of $51 million to the Nevada npon-solar ratepayers. And of course, from the peanut gallery:
The results of the study come at a time of intense political back-and-forth between the utility and rooftop solar advocates, such as SolarCity who recently brought out their own study in collaboration with the NRDC, that found rooftop solar benefited all Nevadans, and outweighed all costs to ratepayers.
So who are you going to believe - an independent engineering company who is licensed, bonded and insured or some astroturf advocacy group funded by God knows who?
Nuclear is the only way to go - carbon free, cheap and the new designs are walk-away safe.
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