Gregory's Server@brianstorms @infobeautiful
could you elaborate on why that is? Clearly, there's enough sun in NM :)
The #wikipedia page about it is indeed quite outdated.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_power_in_New_Mexico
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 @brianstorms @maltimore @infobeautiful I don't understand. New Mexico should be great for residential solar. So why are you saying it's not economically viable?  @AeonCypher @maltimore @infobeautiful It's insanely expensive. Still. @brianstorms @maltimore @infobeautiful https://www.energysage.com/local-data/solar-panel-cost/nm/ ??? Is this page wrong? Like, there's been grid parity from a TCO perspective in most of the USA for years. There is a problem that: it's a huge upfront cost, drops in price often result in demand spikes that cause delays, landlords have no incentives to install them.  @brianstorms @AeonCypher @maltimore @infobeautiful @Gurre @brianstorms @AeonCypher @maltimore @infobeautiful Yeah am also interested in why that is. In the UK it's still viable, to the extent that the government no longer provide the ability for new customers (who are not grandfathered in) to get paid to feedback to the grid as an incentive, because it makes enough sense to do for personal reasons, to reduce bills (even with high cost UK labor costs). I can imagine maybe electricity from the grid is a lot cheaper in NM than in UK (and EU)? @iaincollins @Gurre @AeonCypher @maltimore @infobeautiful Grid rates are relatively low in NM (a reason the economics of solar are hard to justify or many, I suspect) but the major utility here has a proposal before the public utility commission right now seeking to raise rates by like 40-50% which, if solar costs keep dropping, will only boost solar adoption here. Me, I wanna be off-grid asap. But I’m still waiting.  @brianstorms @AeonCypher @maltimore @infobeautiful Certainly if the system there isn't set up to give you much if you sell it back you shouldn't oversize your installation but it should still be possible, though I do see that it's got a comparatively long pay back period compared to other places, but that presumably assumes grid costs won't go up. |
@maltimore @infobeautiful
Sorry, meant residential solar.
As for utility-scale solar, in sunlit #NewMexico, sure, you’d think this state should already be running on 100% renewables, except for one pesky detail: this state and its government is utterly and wholly captured, owned, and controlled by the oil and gas industry.
My guess? NM will finally be 100% renewable once both polar icecaps are long gone and the sea levels are so high, NM is now on the west coast of what’s left of the US.