My Recent Solar Energy Craze

So... A pony named SunBurn having green solar energy on his mind. Who could have imagined?

Something most people who know me IRL are aware of: I'm a greentech enthusiast. Let me give you a number of points that I'll be covering in this post so you'll have a better picture of what to expect further down the line and judge whether or not you want to continue. I'll be covering why I'm a greenie, the trends I'm seeing in solar energy, hopefully making you a little more familiar with common terminology used in this particular field like $ per Watt and Return On Investment and I might be able to offer some assistance to any pony who might be interested in having a better idea of the potential for solar energy where one might live.

This isn't anything new about me. The earliest that I can remember thinking about sustainable technologies is when I was 14. There are many sides to this. This really has more to do than "global warming", "climate change", "endangered species" or whatever else we're stereotyped with. This went hand in hand with my vision of space exploration, that dream of going back to the moon and making a permanent settlement there. For this to be conceivable, let alone possible, we simply cannot falter in mastering sustainability down here on Earth because failure to do so in outer space will carry a much bigger price. Apart from the moon, I also look to Mars and even Venus as possible places to settle for different purposes like the study of extraterrestrial geology, to inspire new generations to push the frontiers. Speaking of inspiration, I'm very certain I chose this direction because of my love affair with the Metroid series, most notably Metroid Prime which plays on this planet called Tallon IV where you explore parts of the planet and uncovering the rich and detailed backstory through your scan visor, a completely optional thing, really. One of the fascinating things was this place called Chozo Ruins and there you find lore and other features, subtle or not, that tell the story of its rise and fall. This civilization built to be in perfect harmony with its natural environment yet still it was closed, claustrophobic almost and felt a little dank. One couldn't help but try to imagine how the place must have looked and functioned in its heyday.

Right then, something I encountered a few days ago got the idealist in me kicking. Solexel is aiming to bring its 20% efficient $0.24 per Watt thin-film solar cell to the commercial market in 2014.
It's no news that solar energy's been getting cheaper but DAYUMN! All the while fossil fuels continue to go up up up in price.

To understand why this could be a game breaker, there are several things about solar energy we need to get familiar with. There's that Return On Investment (ROI) everyone is looking at for solar energy. The ROI is the time it takes for the money you save in energy because of the solar panels, to match up with the money you initially paid to set the installation up. Now, doing some math revealed that there are three important factors that dictate the time of ROI: 1) the cost of the solar installation in $ per Watt (we'll represent it with $/W), 2) the rate of the electric bill in $ per kilowatt-hour (represented with $/kWh) and the (yearly) climate, where a quantity called "Peak Sun Hours" come into play, which I'll explain further in a bit. I will arbitrarily name these variables as follows:
TROI =: Time of Return On Investment in Years
C =: cost of solar installation in $/W
R =: rate of electricity price in $/kWh
PSH =: Peak Sun Hours in Hours per Day
The PSH makes the math simpler as it will tell you how much electrical energy your solar panel installation will give you in a day or year. Alright, now for the real deal:
TROI = 1000 × C ÷ R ÷ PSH ÷ 365
That's it. Really. That's how you calculate the amount of years for your solar installation to give you your money back in savings. Most bronies live in the USA so I'll give you this nifty little map.
You'll want your TROI to be 10 tops. It's difficult to get a good handle on the costs since you'll need lost of other equipment depending on what kind of installation you're going for which may be Off Grid, Grid Intertied or On Grid With Battery Backup. Grid Intertied appears to be the best if you just want to lower your electricity bill and little else. The solar panels themselves an ever shrinking fraction of the total installation costs these days but steps are also being made to make the installation process less costly as well by making it quick and easy. In any case, the three variables explained are all important for one who looks forward to a good investment. With cheaper solar energy on the way and rising electricity prices, viability could come sooner thank we think.