Any confidence I might have had in solar vendors, or even the very idea, was shaken at the LEED seminar I attended last weekend.
Why? Well, the first 'shake'was the assertion that greedy electrical contractors, in collusion with solar equipment makers, were suppressing effective technology.
The second 'shake' was the assertion of a rapid (1-3 year) payback on solar and wind systems. I'm sorry, but the systems I've examined so far will never pay off, unless they magically are without any maintenance issues in the next few years. (Naturally, all bets are off if you take today's installed cost, and assume an immediate, and massive, increase in both subsidies and power costs).
Finally, a large amount of time was spent panning Nevada's net metering law. That the localPoCo will let you go to zero, but will not pay for any surplus, was seen as a major flaw. California was held as a good example ... yet, even there, you are severely limited in what you can sell back (unless you want to be regulated as a public utility yourself). In any event, the issue is moot, as I haven't seen any systems that were able to produce electricity significantly above what the home uses; most systems can -maybe- handle off-peak loads.
My conclusion: there will be a surge of "alternative power" legislation, rebates, etc. in the near future ... geared towards rewarding equipment makers and those who ALREADY have such systems. Everyone else is shark bait.
