{"id":427962,"date":"2026-02-25T17:37:06","date_gmt":"2026-02-25T16:37:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=427962"},"modified":"2026-02-25T17:37:09","modified_gmt":"2026-02-25T16:37:09","slug":"solar-industry-searches-for-a-message-it-is-not-economics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=427962","title":{"rendered":"Solar Industry Searches for a Message (it is not economics)"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From The Master Resource<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

By David Bergeron<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

\u201cBut messaging isn\u2019t the problem. The economics, the numbers, are. If solar is truly affordable, reliable, and resilient, the suppliers should say so plainly: in cents per kWh, free of explicit subsidies and mandates.\u201d \u2013 David Bergeron, SunDanzer (below)<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

I just returned from the Intersolar & Energy Storage North America<\/a> conference in San Diego where the keynote address focused on how the long-duration storage industry can move forward under the headwinds of the current administration. Their strategy? Better messaging, shifting from climate-change arguments to affordability<\/em>, reliability<\/em>, and resilience<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But messaging isn\u2019t the problem. The economics, the numbers, are. If solar is truly affordable, reliable, and resilient, the suppliers should say so plainly: in cents per kWh, free of explicit subsidies and mandates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cost and reliability have always been the problem with solar. The price of solar has fallen greatly in the past 30 years, and battery prices are falling, too, so there is hope that solar with batteries can become economically viable in more and more applications. But where is it viable today? That is the question the industry should be answering\u2014clearly, directly, and in dollars and cents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At Intersolar, I went to a few vendors promoting residential solar-and-battery systems and asked a simple question: \u201cIf I go completely solar with battery backup, what is my approximate cost of energy (cents\/kWh), assuming normal amortization and maintenance?<\/em>\u201d No one I spoke to could answer that basic, simple question.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is surprising, if not stunning. It should be the most important number in the industry. These vendors promoting solar against competing energy sources\u2014gas, propane, coal, nuclear, and others\u2014should know their cost for comparison. Even if solar is more expensive, some might choose it for the sake of independence; that\u2019s fair. But if the industry cannot state its delivered cost of electricity, it is not ready to claim \u201caffordability.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a residential customer, I can buy reliable electricity from many utilities for 10\u201315 cents\/kWh (25\u201350 cents in California). So what is the delivered cost of residential solar with battery backup? My simple calculation indicates it might be 15\u201330 cents\/kWh for residential systems in a sunny region<\/strong>, depending on the size of the battery. But that system would still not be as reliable as grid power. You can add a backup generator, but the cost per kWh will increase another 10 cents or so.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even at 25\u201340 cents\/kWh, solar can make sense in some places\u2014and this is where the industry should focus: the markets where the numbers work without heroic assumptions. But as for most Americans in most places (excluding blue-states Hawaii, California, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut), home solar is approximately double<\/em> the cost of grid electricity\u2013and with a lot less transaction cost and risk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For utility-scale systems, the same price-signal test applies. If solar were truly affordable, someone could offer a fixed price to a utility that the utility would happily purchase without government subsidies or mandates. This should be the goal of the on-grid solar industry: a competitive price with no subsidy (no Investment Tax Credit, in particular). They claim they are there, but the most honest referee is procurement. If solar were truly a better value to utilities\u2014delivered, firmed, and reliable \u2014 utilities would freely choose it.  There is a reason that most new data centers are opting for natural gas power rather than solar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAffordability\u201d cannot be a slogan. It must be a price. The industry should publish all-in, delivered cents-per-kWh ranges under standard assumptions\u2014financing, maintenance, replacement, and reliability\u2014and stand behind them. If solar is competitive, the market will validate it. If it is not, no amount of messaging will change the arithmetic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cReliability\u201d is another word I heard at the conference used to describe solar. I agree that with enough battery capacity, solar can be considered reliable 24\/7 power\u2014but at what cost? Solar is fundamentally intermittent and can only be made reliable with significant battery expense. That is not an argument against solar. It is an argument for honesty in the price signal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Conclusion<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

So when the solar lobby comes to town claiming solar is affordable, reliable, and resilient, a simple question should follow: What is the delivered cost per kWh, and how much of that price depends on subsidies, mandates, or special rate structures? If the answer is unclear, the claim is marketing, not economics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The ITC is ending, and net-metering subsidies are waning in many key states. The training wheels are coming off. It\u2019s time for solar to compete on price. It can in some places, and as time and technology advance\u2014especially with energy storage\u2014solar might one day be a significant energy source. But it needs to focus on reducing cost and proving it in the only language the market understands: price signals. The political winds that blow solar to and fro would calm if solar were economical. That is a better path to success.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 David Bergeron<\/a> is a solar technologist and founder\/CEO of SunDanzer<\/a>, a free-market, off-grid solar company based in Tucson, Arizona. Bergeron\u2019s letter, \u201cEnd DOE\u2019s Loans\/Grants Now!<\/a>\u201d to Jigar Shah<\/a>, formerly director of the $400 billion Loan Programs Office<\/a>, is a rare example of a free-market business leader putting principle first.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cBut messaging isn\u2019t the problem. The economics, the numbers, are. If solar is truly affordable, reliable, and resilient, the suppliers should say so plainly: in cents per kWh, free of explicit subsidies and mandates.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":121246920,"featured_media":427966,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_wpcom_ai_launchpad_first_post":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[691841633,691841632,691819426,691841634,691833531],"class_list":["post-427962","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-better-messaging","tag-cost-and-reliability","tag-solar-industry","tag-solar-scams","tag-subsidies-and-mandates","fallback-thumbnail"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paxLW1-1NkC","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":423736,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=423736","url_meta":{"origin":427962,"position":0},"title":"All of the above, please","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"01\/29\/2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Wind and solar industry lobbyists are appealing to conservatives in a last-ditch effort to promote wind and solar power as a reliable energy source.","rel":"","context":"In \"coal\"","block_context":{"text":"coal","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=coal"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/0AQN6x49Z9KAFSsoNkWk60cNFQnK29Y2tgq9zzbO_ExR4UTo7YIORRvAkKxLNApeDL_M1858dn0GbWhYFR8CD3KgC8W3_-wi9hBkoXBeGxHz7ElyfHhbsfS3_TnHd0TnO-1.jpeg?fit=680%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/0AQN6x49Z9KAFSsoNkWk60cNFQnK29Y2tgq9zzbO_ExR4UTo7YIORRvAkKxLNApeDL_M1858dn0GbWhYFR8CD3KgC8W3_-wi9hBkoXBeGxHz7ElyfHhbsfS3_TnHd0TnO-1.jpeg?fit=680%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/0AQN6x49Z9KAFSsoNkWk60cNFQnK29Y2tgq9zzbO_ExR4UTo7YIORRvAkKxLNApeDL_M1858dn0GbWhYFR8CD3KgC8W3_-wi9hBkoXBeGxHz7ElyfHhbsfS3_TnHd0TnO-1.jpeg?fit=680%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":261073,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=261073","url_meta":{"origin":427962,"position":1},"title":"Sir Keir Starmer\u2019s Plans to Turn Britain into a \u2018Green Energy Superpower\u2019 will Bankrupt Households and Cripple the Economy","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"06\/07\/2023","format":false,"excerpt":"What effect will Sir Keir Starmer\u2019s ambition to turn Britain into a \u201cclean energy superpower\u201d and ban any further oil and gas exploration have on the price we will pay for our electricity, assuming he becomes our next Prime Minister?","rel":"","context":"In \"Bankrupt Households\"","block_context":{"text":"Bankrupt Households","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=bankrupt-households"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/0Net-Zero-Infographic-1.6.jpg?fit=1200%2C626&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/0Net-Zero-Infographic-1.6.jpg?fit=1200%2C626&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/0Net-Zero-Infographic-1.6.jpg?fit=1200%2C626&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/0Net-Zero-Infographic-1.6.jpg?fit=1200%2C626&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/0Net-Zero-Infographic-1.6.jpg?fit=1200%2C626&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":462992,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=462992","url_meta":{"origin":427962,"position":2},"title":"\u201cCheap\u201d Solar Does Not Need Subsidies, Right? 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