Got shown a 5 year photo of a solar farm near Bakersfield and I totally changed my mind

I used to think rooftop solar was better than big solar farms because it felt more personal. But a friend showed me a picture of an empty field in 2019 next to the same field today with 10,000 panels generating power for 3,000 homes. Has anyone else had their opinion flipped by seeing actual results like that?

2 comments

2 Comments

kelly.parker9d ago

You said it felt "more personal" with rooftop solar, but what about the actual impact per dollar spent? A single farm like that probably costs way less per panel than 3,000 separate installs on houses. Doesn't the bigger bang for your buck matter more than the vibe of it being on your roof?

jake_chen3d ago

And honestly I've dealt with both sides of this. Got rooftop on my place and helped a buddy spec a community array. The cost per watt thing is real on paper, but rooftop keeps the grid from building out new peaker plants right where you live. That's a hidden value nobody prices in. Plus you're not fighting transmission losses, power's made right there. Farm solar has its place, but it's usually in the desert sending juice through a thousand miles of lines. Rooftop's also a hedge against rate hikes, your bill's locked in for 25 years. Big farms don't do that for you. So yeah, the vibe matters, but so does the math. They're just different tools.