The smoke and mirrors the solar industry and GHG folks are trying to use to force people into solar panels is laughable at best. I am all for giving tax incentives to people and businesses if that tax incentive is likely to produce an increase return to the coffers. It seems that people are hard pressed to pay a premium for thier power when they still are allowed to choose what they use to power thier homes. The loss of a 30% federal tax break continues to make large scale solar power production a novelty item for those with more dollars than sense.

The panels salesmen will also tell people that the panels have a life expectancy of nearing 40 years. This might happen under ideal situations but typical installations experience 15 years average, especially if you consider that possibly in 15 years, more efficient cells are available and people "upgrade".

The closing line to this article "Still, there are signs that Americans will continue to invest in solar energy systems for their homes over the next few years, helping to bring down the costs of solar panels in some areas." is an example of materials understanding and basic economics. The econimics of the materials used to manufacture solar panels, silicon and precious metals, is opposite of this argument. The manufacturing process requires massive amounts of power, produces massive amounts of air pollution and heavy metal emissions, has devestating enviromental impacts due to the mining operations, and complex manufacturing controls and can not scale up out put based on demand. More crucibles need to be built to handle it and an increase in demand of prcious metals creates in increase in costs, not the drops that are used to justify and increase in demand of solar panels.

In summary, you have to read between the lines to see what is being said and what isn't.

I always see upfront costs but raely see monthly savings and payback information. Also what is the lifespan of the average installation.

cut the whining over tea-the good life - big oil companies have been stealing/usurping/siphoning (taxing) the common man's wealth for almost a century. How by controlling regulations on education(salliemae) housing(fanniemae) & agricuture/resources(comewhatmay). truth is they are purveyors of the greed and ruining of the earth. if we are at the tipping point and a cleanup must begin, these companies should be the first in line to help begin financing the transition to needed to cleanup the dirty books, air, water, land and space. measure the offset, bend it, strap it down and pull the strings.

Why should your neighbor pay for your Solar? If the system cannot pay for itself in a reasonable amount of time it is a bad investment. Solar should not be an additional burden upon tax apying American citizens. Robert

Look, there's more to it then you think, try to get a permit to install solar power in Miami. And it's not just Miami, its all over. The building departments have made it so hard to get a permit and so expensive. I paid $785 in permit fees to install four panels, had to get a structural engineer for wind loading which I recommend, a roofer to mount the brackets to the roof, his $100 permit. They even made me pay a notary to the drawling I provided then in my presents in their 2 month of kicking back the permit. All this after Miami Dade county signing a bill in the legislature to expedite all green power permits. The kicker is I had to show the inspector how to inspect the job after him saying it was his first one. No this is not going to stop me from promoting efficiency and solar power, but I am sure it has had the biggest impact on this market but never talked about. PV

There many types of consumers, but I think it boils down to the following. #1. The consumer who will purchase solar because no matter the costs they want to help the enivronment. #2. The consumer who will purchase solar to try and get off the grid and stop paying money to the big utilities. #3. The consumer who will purchase solar because financially it works. #1 needs lots of money, #2 actually benefits the big utilities because they are paying (crediting) you at a discounted rate and selling it back at a much higher rate, #3 Until solar equipment comes down in price or utility costs greatly increase or a combination of both. Basic economics. When this happens we will see solar on every roof, in every yard etc.

I have been involved in the solar industry since the '70s and the pending end of the tax incentives may do to the industry the same as the end of the tax incentives in the early 80s...greatly curtail installation activity. Private industry was not able to maintain without the incentives previously and the question I have is, can they now?

It's all right there in this article in black and white.

For one consumer we all wrote a check out of our own pocket books. Another one missed out on the enforced charity and regreted his decision to spend the money in the first place.

If the product will not stand on it's own two feet in a free market it should be left to the niche where it makes sense. That being, off remote off grid applications.

In this case, the solar cells have a finite lifetime and cost a certain amount of energy to produce. What if there is not enough energy produced from the solar cells during the lifetime of the product to make up for the energy expended in producing the solar cells and aluminum framing? In that case, we have all paid someone to waste energy. At best, I suspect solar cells are a wash in this energy equation.

Solar cells should be deployed only in applications that have no access to the grid until this energy equation changes. The government waste of our money in promoting the misapplication in solar cells is bad policy.

By canceling the subsidies there will be a natural enforcement in the energy balance by the accurate cost of the solar cells and the cost of energy they will produce over their lifetime.

another boondoggle that needs end.

why is government at any level subsidizing these mostly rich people who can afford to buy this kind of stuff on their own?

Let's see if I got this straight. Taxpayers subsidize it and home owner get's to keep the savings.

I saw the solar fad 30 years ago when whole communities were fitted with solar cells on homes.

When oil prices dropped, so did the interest in solar.

Maybe in another 30 years...

Like anything else, If you want something, pay for it yourself, the rest of us do. The handouts must stop, any and all kind.

This is one more example of government picking favorites. An industry lobbies the government to pass bills giving the industry preferential treatment. Such lobbies are based on portrayed concerns such as environmental or safety benefits. Then the industry and the participating consumers benefit at the expense of the taxpayers at large.

Such subsidies always cause skewed markets and, since the general tax payer base cannot support the chosen benefactors forever, ultimately the chosen favorites will fall to the whims of a free capitalistic market.

When an industry grows on its own values, and without preferential support, it will tend to last due to genuine support.

We could argue that these programs would never be allowed to prosper without government interference and support, and we would not receive the benefit. But that is exactly my point. It is a little like supporting your children well into adulthood so that they cannot fail. Then one day, you can no longer provide that support and they must become independent. Independent, but stronger for the change. They would have been stronger still if they had accurately weighed their choices and made well informed decisions, rather thatn making decisions based upon artificial support from some benefactor.

If an industry wishes to prosper and has a much needed product, it should bring the product competitively to a non-skewed market. Wouldn't we all like to get government funding (money from our neighbors) to start and operate our business, rather than build that business on its own merits -- regardless of how much we think the taxpayers need our business?

no mas habla necessito.

Yes big oil, big bank and big utility powered politicians have all but closed the door on the many thousands of electricians who would have been needed to install and maintain these consumer owned rooftop systems. Electrical suppliers around the nation will continue to miss out on sales opportunities.

Keeping tax breaks intact will assure that the same political muscle has future financing.