Solar Costs

On 31 March 2009, the Columbus Dispatch printed an article by Mary Beth Lane extolling solar power. Their prime example was a US Forestry Service project to provide solar panels to the Wayne National Forest HQ. Cost = $398,000; estimated electricity savings = $10,000 - $ 16,000 annually. This amounts to a 10 to 40 year payback time. Of course, the Forestry Service gets the money via an appropriation, so that they are not paying interest. But it's a cost that adds to the National debt, so that the interest cost does not affect the Forestry Service.

More bothersome is the statement by the head of Green Energy Ohio (GEO) that solar panels pay for themselves in ten years. This does not jibe with the example above or with Ann's experience. Perhaps there is a large subsidy implied in the GEO which I haven't accounted for.