Let's talk solar..

I have solar panels on my house. Here are a few things to know.

1) Years ago, Louisiana and the Fed were subsidizing the program to get solar panels. La is no longer subsidizing. Without those tax refunds, it is not worth it. My system paid itself off in 5 years. Without the refunds, it would've taken 20 which is the life of the system.
back then, La offered 12.5 and the fed 7.5 of your first $25K spent. So, it was $5k out of pocket.

2) Replace your roof before they put on the panels. To take them off and replace is expensive and a PITA.

3) Your roof needs a clear view of the southern sky.


Solar is the future, but he tech is not there yet in terms of energy production to cost ratio.

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Thanks Coach. This is what I'm looking for.. 5 year payout, I would pull the trigger today

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Yes, it was a no brainer for me 6-7 years ago. I'm now making money each month.

Look into the subsidies out there. If you have a high cost per KW/hr, it may still benefit you to get a system.

energy.gov
there still a credit from the fed.

louisiana.gov

It looks like nothing from the state of Louisiana.

Anybody know of smaller install company near say Hammond area. Our system is 11 years old was 8 kw and it had some good years. The panels turned to shite and we just got a check to replace with new...Still looking for installer other than the bigger companies.If I had to start fresh without federal and state incentives I probably would pass.

I have panels that were installed in 2014 when we had the full tax break. I recovered my initial invest in 6 years. I have had to replace 8 micro-inverters, due to poor design. The new inverters are not affected by high temps. The other issue I have is with Entergy running voltage to my house
to high and tripping my panels.

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The batteries are expensive though.

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They are about to get REAL expensive. Lithium up ninefold.

Epoch Times

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“China is the dominant supplier for multiple critical minerals and is likely to remain so. In the case of minerals it does not supply—such as cobalt—China has near-monopolistic control of refining capacity through its state-owned enterprises,” states the March report, which was authored by Phil Rossetti and George David Banks for the Citizens for Responsible Energy Solutions (CRES) Forum. The projected demand may require more of some minerals than can be found in total reserves.

“Increasingly, scholars are questioning the mineral requirements that would be needed to reach either 100 [percent] renewable or clean energy targets,” the CRES Forum’s analysis states.

The warning comes at a crucial time for global mineral markets: the benchmark prices of lithium, lithium carbonate, and lithium hydroxide have rapidly increased in recent months, as detailed at Benchmark Minerals.

For example, the benchmark price of lithium has increased more than ninefold to 1045.90 a ton in March 2022, from hovering at just 115.80 per ton in September 2020.

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for mining lithium

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most lithuim is extracted from brine

For those that have it, how did you determine it was worth the investment?

When I look at my rolling averages over the past 3 years, my max rolling average usage per month was 1,314kWh, with a max of 2,252kWh in September 2020 (Sept 2022 probably would have been higher, but I had 2 weeks of no power)

My max daily usage was 66.86kWh in Oct 2020

My max bill over the last 2 years was $225, and rolling annual costs is in the $1,750 range. I just don't see how the savings would be there, even with tax credits