Why don’t we put solar panels on every home?

[Whyaretheynotdoinganything]

Just as the tile says, I’m wondering why the government or the opposition are not proposing free solar panels for every home as a solution to the energy crisis and energy security?

Surely a cost benefit analysis would show net economic benefit, whereas subsidising household energy bills is expensive with little return for the economy.

One barrier would be the workforce, but we’ve managed mass construction projects in the past eg. post war council house building programme.

We need a radical solution fast, it would at least give us hope even if the returns are not immediate.

Those who don’t want panels can pay market rates. Apparently panels pay for themselves in 7 years. I’d happily contribute a proportion but don’t have the savings to cover it all.

As you obviously are in the industry, how much per KW does the grid pay you for power generated?.

I am not in the industry and my solar panels came to late for any pay in benefits , although they do keep the edge off the electricity usage

Why not an better battery or alternative facility to store the energy

Have you read the thread? - those issues have been discussed to some extent.
There's a massive amount of work going into trying to develop 'better batteries' - but it's not a simple problem.

My Mother had some sort of grant years ago for solar panels and was an absolute winner in having them. It was many years ago.

@Yamyam13 I read an article about the energy and environmental impact of making wind turbines, the chemicals used are really toxic. This was in my friends engineering magazine quite a few years ago. I stayed at my friends farm and the noise of her turbines drove me crackers.

We have joked about hooking up an exercise bike and pedalling some energy, saw it at an exhibition where they were making electricity using a bike and powering a blender to make smoothies.

Pedal flat out and you might boil a kettle in an hour, many exercise bikes at the gym tell you how much energy you are producing - not much.

We've had them fitted and they've made a huge difference to us although obvs huge outlay. Every time I drive past a new build estate I wonder out loud why solar panels aren't mandatory for all new builds. We're trying to get some kind of rain water harvesting system sorted but struggling and ground source heat pumps are too expensive to make it worthwhile but again why aren't they required for all new builds?

Heat pumps not practical for estate houses, no space for ground source, better insulation and solar is the answer then new build can be all electric, no need for gas at all.

Scientists ought to be receiving grants to work on these projects.

They are. Many of them are working in green energy subsidiary companies or arms of the big oil/energy companies. But of course activists protest everytime a grant is won by Shell or BP or Esso not understanding the grants are for green energy and falsely claiming it’s funding fossil fuels. The giants all know fossil fuels are in their end days, they intend to switch to providing green energy instead of doing nothing and going bankrupt.

Here is quick list re Shell.
Shell to Develop Utility-Scale Solar Projects in the UK
mercomindia.com/shell-develop-utility-scale-solar-projects/

“We are expanding our solar power generation capability by investing in the development and operation of long-term commercial and industrial solar projects.” Full list of projects at www.shell.com/energy-and-innovation/new-energies/solar.html

“Shell New Energies US LLC, a subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell plc (Shell), has completed the acquisition of Savion LLC (Savion), a large utility-scale solar and energy storage developer in the United States.”
www.shell.com/media/news-and-media-releases/2021/shell-completes-acquisition-of-solar-and-energy-storage-developer-savion.html

And list of just the renewable energy efforts this year, 2022, so far…

Shell confirms plans to purchase 100MW portfolio of new build solar capacity in the UK from Anesco Aug 10, 2022

Shell is in the process of purchasing four solar farm projects currently being developed by Anesco, to help meet growing demand for renewable power in the UK.

Shell completes acquisition of renewables platform Sprng Energy group

Aug 9, 2022

Shell Overseas Investment B.V., a wholly owned subsidiary of Shell plc (Shell), has completed its 100% acquisition of Solenergi Power Private Limited and with it, the Sprng Energy group of companies from Actis Solenergi Limited (Actis).
Shell to start building Europe’s largest renewable hydrogen plant

Jul 6, 2022

Shell Nederland B.V. and Shell Overseas Investments B.V., subsidiaries of Shell plc, have taken the final investment decision to build Holland Hydrogen I, which will be Europe’s largest renewable hydrogen plant once operational in 2025.
Shell bids to bring offshore wind power to the Polish Baltic Sea

Jun 13, 2022

Amber Baltic Wind Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Shell plc ("Shell"), has submitted proposals for new offshore wind locations in the Polish Baltic Sea zone as part of the latest government's tender. The sites included in the tender will help deliver Poland’s ambition of reaching 11 GW of installed offshore wind capacity by 2040.
Shell launches Shell Energy brand, 100% renewable electricity plans in Texas

Jun 7, 2022

Shell today announced the launch of the Shell Energy brand into the residential power market in the United States. Through Shell Energy Solutions (“Shell Energy”) the company now offers 100% renewable electricity plans to eligible customers in Texas, expanding its portfolio of offerings and giving residential customers access to renewable electricity plans while building on the trusted relationships the company has built with Texans over decades.
Shell to collaborate with key Japanese LNG buyers on accelerating decarbonisation

Jun 6, 2022

Shell Eastern Petroleum Limited (Shell) has signed separate non-binding memorandums of understanding (MOUs) with its long-standing liquefied natural gas (LNG) buyers Tokyo Gas and Osaka Gas. The MOUs represent a collaboration with both companies to explore potential opportunities to accelerate decarbonisation across their respective production value chains.
Shell to acquire Sprng Energy group, one of India’s leading renewable power platforms

Apr 29, 2022

Shell Overseas Investment B.V., a wholly owned subsidiary of Shell plc (Shell), today signed an agreement with Actis Solenergi Limited (Actis) to acquire 100% of Solenergi Power Private Limited for $1.55 billion and with it, the Sprng Energy group of companies.
Shell and Uniper to work together on blue hydrogen production facility in the UK

Apr 12, 2022

Shell and Uniper sign co-operation agreement to progress plans for low-carbon hydrogen production at Uniper’s Killingholme site in North Lincolnshire
Hydrogen produced could be used to decarbonise heavy industry, transport, heating and power across Humber and beyond
Project recently passed eligibility phase for UK Government’s Phase-2 carbon capture, usage and storage Cluster Sequencing Process
Shell completes 49% acquisition of wind farm developer, WestWind

Apr 1, 2022

Shell Energy Operations Pty Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Shell plc (“Shell”), has completed its 49% acquisition of wind farm developer, WestWind Energy Development Pty Ltd (“WestWind”).
Shell and BYD partner on EV charging across China and Europe

Mar 24, 2022

Shell and BYD have signed a strategic cooperation agreement to help accelerate the energy transition and improve charging experience for BYD’s battery electric vehicle (BEV) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) customers. The partnership will start in China and Europe and will extend to other regions across the globe.
Shell Australia makes first investment in wind through 49% share and strategic partnership with WestWind

Mar 1, 2022

Shell Energy Operations Pty Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Shell plc (“Shell”), today announced it has signed an agreement to acquire 49% of Australian wind farm developer, WestWind Energy Development Pty Ltd (“WestWind”), which has a 3 gigawatts (GW) project pipeline across Victoria, New South Wales (NSW) and Queensland.
Shell completes acquisition of energy retailer, Powershop Australia

Feb 1, 2022

Shell has completed the acquisition of Powershop, an online energy retailer serving more than 185,000 customers.
Shell starts up hydrogen electrolyser in China with 20 MW production capacity

Jan 28, 2022

Shell has started operations at the power-to-hydrogen electrolyser in Zhangjiakou, a joint venture between Shell (China) Limited and Zhangjiakou City Transport Construction Investment Holding Group Co. Ltd.
Shell acquires solar-konzept Italia

Jan 19, 2022

Shell has acquired 100% of solar development company solar-konzept Italia Srl (SKI) from solar-konzept International GmbH. The acquisition increases Shell’s solar development pipeline in Italy to approximately 2GW and supports Shell’s global ambition to supply customers with renewable power.
Shell and ScottishPower win bids to develop 5 GW of floating wind power in the UK

Jan 17, 2022
Joint ventures plan to build and operate two of the world’s first large-scale floating offshore wind farms in UK waters
Partners will use innovative technology to install turbines further from shore to catch more powerful winds as part of Crown Estate Scotland’s ScotWind leasing
As the global economy transitions to a low-carbon future, Scotland has the opportunity to pioneer expertise to develop a new global centre of excellence for offshore wind

We have joked about hooking up an exercise bike and pedalling some energy, saw it at an exhibition where they were making electricity using a bike and powering a blender to make smoothies.

When I was a kid, most bikes had dynamo powered lights. (Battery powered lamps took a pair of big D size old-fashioned batteries, no lithium ones back then. They didn't last very long). If you weren't pedalling hard enough your lights would dim.... that gives some idea of the power output.

The council properties near where I live have had solar panels fitted over the last couple of years & they are still installing them

Free for everyone ?

Huge cost & ongoing maintenance ?

As of April 2022, the rate is 1 in 33 new builds are fitted with solar panels in the Republic of Ireland.

I live in a new build estate in Scotland and all the houses built in the last 3 years have solar panels as part of the build.

No they don’t. I have lived in 2 new builds since 2012 in Scotland. No solar panels. The newer phases than my current house (2016) build have solar Isabel’s, i’d day from 2018 the majority have panels.

Different authorities have different policies as do developers, here around half new builds have solar, it must be cheaper to put solar on a new build, and on a 3 bed house it’s only going to be 1or 2% extra so no real reason not to.

It's 4 out of every 5 new builds in Scotland that has solar panels fitted. Most, but not all.

Agreed

We are in a quite unique position to be able to do this on a more industrial scale.
We looked into it.
It may get done in the future.
But we looked up our County Council website, and they are still looking into it all. So even the County Council are not up to speed yet.

The developer who would have helped a lot, lost interest when we said we were not interested in putting up wind turbines as well. Or was it a solar power bank? I forget which.
We may do whatever in a few years time.

As with everything, timing and expertise need to be right.

What I think is that this country has gone down and down. You look at the feats of engineering the Victorians managed - and now we can't even put in solar panels in rooves - even though it ticks the money saving and the green energy box.

So much could be done in the UK with good transport connections - e.g. fixing what ever is supposed to be wrong with H2O, or whatever the high speed train service is called. With that, people could live in cheaper areas, keep those communities vital, and work in cities. This ridiculous government can't manage to think big and laterally.

I was cold-called about a government grant to install solar panels. I'd love to do it.

This. Apparently house builders ( the big ones, not local small builders) recently petitioned the government because they didn’t want to have to fork out for car charging points to be included in the spec for new build estates. I imagine they have been snotty about more sustainable materials and improved insulation too. It’s always interesting to see building programmes like Grand Designs and notice the emphasis on insulation and energy saving building methods.

I agree it should be just standard.

however we are having ours installed next months and the installer has huge demand both for installing and the actual kit.
there is nowhere near enough supply or installers for the people that want them atm.

but the government should aim to have them on all new houses as soon as poss

with current energy prices we expect ours to pay for themselves within 4-5 years. Not all rooves are suitable tho.

I'd look at accepting free ones if the agreement would also cover my roof for damage.

Ours are being installed next week hopefully 😁

We’re just getting the panels and I think that they should pay for themselves within 4-5 years.

i looked into batteries because quite a bit of our usage is after dark, but they were quite expensive and inefficient - they changed the payback period for the whole installation to 10 years.

My plan is to work round the generating times - so do washing machine, dishwasher, dryer, charge devices, as much cooking as possible etc during the day and see if we can get usage as low as possible.

Then look again at batteries in a few in a few years time.

I hadn’t heard that before about using an electric car as a battery system but I shall do some research !

This 100%. It’s governed by cartels who dine privately with each other within a small radius of Chipping Norton. Greed pure and simple.

Do you realise how much they cost and then batteries to store it

Ugly! I'd never buy a house with solar panels...they look absolutely hideous!!! Be good to have a more aesthetically pleasing way!