I have many clients who have gotten solar quotes and have put solar on their homes, and I haven’t seen any reduction in cost either.

 

My humor is too advanced for most people... haha J/k

It was a lame joke implying the other side of the world getting tarriffed is like the dark side of the moon.

Sunny and better in this side.
Yeah, I Know, lame... lol

 

ha, well tariffs on solar panels wouldn't be meaningful from the u.s. as they're almost all made in china.

 

And that supports the issue with the green push in that it won’t work..becomes incredibly expensive if made domestically…gas and fuel can be made domestically for far less

 

Most US-bound panel production comes out of Malaysia, due to tariffs on Chinese production that have been in place for years. The REC 420 AA Pure 2s I had installed last year were from Malaysia. The Enphase microinverters were from South Carolina.

 

R2 demo vehicle is camped out in NYC this week and it bothers me I can't make it out.

 

final assembly or actually mfg in Malaysia?

 

Actual manufacturing. Malaysia is the world's 3rd largest producer of solar cells. 80% is indeed done by Chinese-owned companies (the remainder being a combination of locally-owned, US and South Korean owned), but the cells are produced and assembled there. Ironically, the overwhelming majority of panels installed in Malaysia are imported from China. This is because their in-country production is earmarked almost completely for export due to existing tariffs, which date back to 2012.

I misspoke earlier though. My REC panels are from Singapore, not Malaysia. REC did have a polysilicon factory in Washington state, but it closed last year. There are another 287 solar factories in the US, many in the former Rust Belt, that will be at risk of downsizing or closure next year if the residential alternative energy credits are phased out this December as called for in the version of the budget that has passed the House and is being reviewed by the Senate. Currently they extend until at least 2034.

 

https://www.carscoops.com/2025/06/ma...apanese-plant/

If this is true, wow.

-Mazda's Hofu h2 plant will be able to produce multi propulsion systems on the same line from 2027 (ice to hev to ev)
-near 100% utilization
-cut down production line extensions from 6 weeks to 7 days
-reduce 85% investment cost and 80% lead time.
-automated guided line

Toyota previewed something similar, i wonder if its a joint plan across many JP mfgs under the TMC partnership umbrella?

 

I am curious about Mazda's vehicle design. If it is a one-size-fits-all design, the results will likely be poor. A pure play approach builds better products. The flexible architecture is by definition a compromise. In the EV space, this has resulted in a can-of-worms wiring solution. Bean counters win, while products pay the price.

 

Friend in my neighborhood recently added panels and the improvement in efficiency that has been made is pretty significant. From a pure cost perspective, we paid roughly the same amount for the same number of panels, but he's got about 15% greater generation than I have.

 

Yep, this is what has been missed, Price points stay broadly constant, but what you get for the price gets better as the technology improves. Very much like the TV market, the price tiers have been broadly the same for years but what you get for your money within each tier is evolving rapidly.

 

I agree with the merits of ground up ev architecture, but outside of Tesla, that play does not work. Legacy oems need the flexibility with customers who are looking for familiarity and challenging regional regulatory markets that demand utmost flexibility. BMW is the leading proof of concept with this mindset in europe, while BYD in other global markets.

 

If you dont mind me asking, whats your breakeven or net positive timeframe on the entire system?

 

Mine was about 8 years. NJ has net metering so I feed the grid directly and I get charged for the difference between used and generated. Because I usually overproduce, I build up a cushion of credits in the spring/summer that dwindle down in the fall/winter. Last year or two I haven't been over producing because it's been hot and AC has been running a ton but the highest electricity bill I've seen has been about $150. Prior to solar, my summer bill was between $400-450. I also generate solar credits for every MWh generated which I have set to auto sell. Sales price has been between $200 and $250 per credit and I generate 15 a year so $3000 a year on the low end.