In the Pacific Northwest, I see rooftop solar panels half-covered with mildew. I wonder how that affects the power generation, and how often one would have to climb up on the roof to scrape them clean.
More like getting the roof cleaned. It's pretty expensive to pay someone to dangle on your roof to clean it. Fortunately, it doesn't need to be done that often.
> Yes, rooftop home solar doesn't make a ton of sense at this latitude and especially not adjacent to this much hydro power.
I know people in Seattle who run their entire house off solar for 6-8 months on the year (important now that AC is increasingly needed around here...) and who don't fully deplete the credit they've saved up with the power company until January.
Also only Seattle gets the majority of their energy Hydro Power, anyone in King County but outside of Seattle is getting a mix[1] including around 46% from coal + natural gas.
> I know people in Seattle who run their entire house off solar for 6-8 months on the year (important now that AC is increasingly needed around here...) and who don't fully deplete their battery bank until January.
So what? They've invested a large amount of capital in order to avoid low $0.13/kWh residential electricity rates that come from more or less entirely carbon-free sources (mostly hydro, some nuclear/wind). You can do it, it just doesn't make any sense.
> So what? They've invested a large amount of capital in order to avoid low $0.13/kWh residential electricity rates that come from more or less entirely carbon-free sources
As per PSE (the power company for the Seattle Metro but outside of Seattle itself), only 23% of the energy sent to surrounding areas outside of Seattle city proper is from hydro. FWIW Nuclear is less than 1%. 46% is fossil fuels, natural gas and coal.
As for the payback period on solar installs, it made a lot of sense a few years ago when the state had incentives.
With the ability to bank credit, plenty of people around Seattle who have solar panels are only paying for electricity for 3 or so months of the year.
Is it a slam dunk? There is probably better ROI on an index fund, but it is not a money losing proposition by any means.
It's hard to see the ROI on rooftop solar, especially taking into account the cost of replacing the panels and the battery now and then. They're not lifetime purchases.
> > Yes, rooftop home solar doesn't make a ton of sense at this latitude and especially not adjacent to this much hydro power.
Latitude is inclusive of the surrounding area, not just the city of Seattle.
Also in general when people refer to a city they are also referring to the metro area around it.
Yes, if you are concerned just about greenhouse gas reduction, and if you live in the Seattle city boundaries, then solar is not a meaningful way to make a reduction.
However many people who live in the Seattle Metro area, but outside the city itself, are shocked to learn how dirty PSE's power is.
For those people, getting solar installed might be meaningful.
And again counter to many people's expectations, Seattle does get enough light to make solar somewhat cost effective, especially with net metering in effect.
The article is about industrial generation, not home solar which is largely a vanity thing still. Go look for mildew on a big solar farm on the other side of the Cascades.
You'll need to dig through all the wind turbines and dams to find them though. The PNW has better choices than solar anyway.
Not such that you can't clean off a solar panel with a hose, no. The point is that maintenance in industrial environments is a given and part of the cost structure. Seeing mildew on grandma's panels isn't really an indictment of the technology.
You lost me. Are you seriously staking a position on "Solar Energy Will Never Work Because Electric Companies Don't Do Windows"? Or are you just trolling. This is silly. Yes. You can clean a solar panel. Do you genuinely not believe that?