By Robert Bradley Jr.
“It is hard to square Meghan Nutting’s parting comments with good, only bad. Her company failed everyone but a few employees, and no one more than founder/CEO John Berger. Her industry has failed its owners and customers too. Her solar journey was a mistake, a mirage, enabled by government.”
Rooftop solar will go down as one of the biggest consumer busts in energy history–and it is just getting started. Sunnova Energy International, with 441,000 rooftop customers, already the subject of mass complaints and lawsuits, can no longer perform on their long-term contracts. So much for promises (still on their website):
25 Years of Protection
Enjoy peace of mind knowing your home solar system and battery are covered by Sunnova Protect®, featuring maintenance, monitoring, repairs, and replacements for 25 years. * Zero out-of pocket costs for repairs, replacements, and labor for ALL system components, even if outside the manufacturer’s limited warranty * Roof penetration warranty *Energy guarantee
The problem is industry-wide as explained by Cesar Barbosa who issued this industry-wide warning:
A bold prediction no one wants to hear: Half of all commercial solar systems installed before 2016 will be underperforming or non-operational by 2030…. [It is] a silent crisis unfolding on rooftops across America—a crisis I’ve been tackling firsthand since 2012, traveling the country with SunPower to address some of the industry’s most pressing system failures.
Across the country, tens of thousands of rooftop solar systems—once hailed as the clean energy revolution—are quietly decaying. Not because the technology failed, but because the industry did. We rushed to install. We cut corners. We promised 25 years of performance… and delivered systems that can’t make it past 10. [1]
Back to Sunnova, the busted rooftop solar leader. I have traced the fall of Sunnova Energy and founder/CEO John Berger with these prior posts:
- Sunnova Hype pre-Bankruptcy May 8, 2025
- Sunnova’s Net Zero for Stockholders (last ESG report of a ‘second-hander’ company) May 7, 2025
- John Berger: “Lifetime Achievement Award” for Sustainable Energy Future April 1, 2025
- Sunnova Going Solyndra? (Enron-ex John Berger owes taxpayers a bundle) February 12, 2025
- Sunnova’s Rooftop Solar: Selling a Bad Product Requires …. April 25, 2019
I now add another one for the historical record. This is the swan song of solar crony Meghan Nutting, EVP of government and regulatory affairs at Sunnova Energy International. “Today is my last day at Sunnova Energy,” she begins.
It’s been just over a decade since I started in May 2015 and in that time, the company grew from a few thousand customers to nearly half a million [now stranded customers]. I am the only person to have held my job at the company and I’m proud of the policy work I was able to do as part of the Sunnova team….
She continues:
A lot has happened, both professionally and personally, over the past ten years. In 2019, I had the honor of standing on the balcony while our CEO rang the bell at the NYSE the day Sunnova went public. Since starting at the company, I have spoken at more than 50 conferences and events, done numerous media interviews and podcasts, and traveled A LOT because democracy (and strong solar policy) is not a spectator sport. I founded and led Sunnova’s Women’s Leadership Network where we brought women in the company together for speakers, water cooler chats and happy hours. I put together a thread on X about why solar costs are what they are and the pressures installers face when building systems: https://lnkd.in/gu69z3S3. And I had an unexpected (and undesired) cameo on Fox News.
Incredible Projects?
I was fortunate to be able to work on incredible projects like DOE’s Puerto Rico Resilience Fund, Sunnova’s $3 billion loan guarantee through the Loan Programs Office, our groundbreaking microgrid application in CA, a petition to the FTC asking them to investigate electricity monopoly abuses of their power, an op-ed on why ratepayers shouldn’t have to pay for utility trade association or lobbyist spending, and a piece by Last Week Tonight on utilities trying to limit rooftop solar adoption: https://lnkd.in/g8WvXMMt
I was part of a brilliant team that fought for the industry in the CA NEM 3.0 battle and part of another amazing team that worked with the American Enterprise Institute on a paper about Innovating Future Power Systems [with faux Lynne Kiesling]. I also worked on [virtual power plant] policies and rollout across the country, brought up the concept of a SolarAPP for interconnection every chance I could, worked through details of consumer protection proposals in numerous states, talked about IRA guidance a lot, and testified at the International Trade Commission as part of my work on trade issues.
I was named one of the Denver Business Journal’s top women in energy for 2018 and one of the DBJ’s top women in business in 2021. I was also a 2021 C3E award winner from the U.S. Department of Energy in the business category. I participated in a few leadership programs such as Impact Denver, Leadership Arts and was part of the 2023 NREL Energy Execs class. I also ran unsuccessfully for the Colorado House of Representatives in 2017-18 (a huge thanks to anyone who donated to my campaign).
She added in a comment:
I had the honor of serving on the boards or advisory boards of Women in Solar Energy, the Energy Choice Coalition, the Solar Energy Industries Association, the PR Solar Energy and Storage Association, InvestHER, the Institute for Regulatory Law and Economics, GridFWD, my niece’s school PTA (which I also co-founded), the Colorado Young Democrats and as Captain of my House District.
I got to work closely with incredible organizations like Solar United Neighbors, the Solar Rights Alliance, the Interstate Renewable Energy Council, the Solar Foundation, the Center for Biological Diversity as well as some really incredible state solar trade associations and SEIA….
And in another comment:
I’ll be back. Because I very deeply believe in the value of solar. I recognize that we need unheard of amounts of energy to power our world and that rooftop solar can be built quickly, affordably and at scale and with minimal environmental impact. I want to make sure that consumers have the right to produce their own energy and that energy markets aren’t entirely controlled by monopolies who care only about their shareholder interests. I want to ensure our system operates efficiently using consumer-sited resources and demand side management so that we can keep rates affordable. I want to make sure consumers can participate in energy markets and are fairly compensated for their contributions.
Final Comment
Nice but naive words about a huge failure–a debacle–that will still play out. And chances are, with a major rollback of the Inflation Reduction Act, the Investment Tax Credit, the Production Tax Credit, and blockage of the ‘gold bars thrown off the Titanic,’ there will be no industry to return to. Just wind down.
It is hard to square Meghan Nutting’s parting comments with good, only bad. Her company failed everyone but a few employees, and no one more than founder/CEO John Berger. Her industry has failed its owners and customers too. Maybe she should join Berger on the witness stand should lawsuits and Congressional investigations ensue.
Will she realize someday that her solar journey was a mistake, a mirage, enabled by government at the expense of taxpayers and the federal debt? Maybe, but not today.
————————-
[1] Cesar Barbosa added: “Inverters are dying—many are already out of warranty, with no replacements available…. Wiring and electrical infrastructure that was never designed for 25+ years of exposure.”
Install quality? Forget it—an army of barely trained crews built the boom, and now we’re paying the price. Maintenance? There was no plan. Just a contract, a handshake, and a hope it would all work out.
This is not just an engineering issue—it’s a financial one. Underperforming assets are generating less revenue than forecasted, while increasing the risk of electrical faults, fire hazards, and insurance claims.
“It is hard to square Meghan Nutting’s parting comments with good, only bad. Her company failed everyone but a few employees, and no one more than founder/CEO John Berger. Her industry has failed its owners and customers too. Her solar journey was a mistake, a mirage, enabled by government.”
Rooftop solar will go down as one of the biggest consumer busts in energy history–and it is just getting started. Sunnova Energy International, with 441,000 rooftop customers, already the subject of mass complaints and lawsuits, can no longer perform on their long-term contracts. So much for promises (still on their website):
25 Years of Protection
Enjoy peace of mind knowing your home solar system and battery are covered by Sunnova Protect®, featuring maintenance, monitoring, repairs, and replacements for 25 years. * Zero out-of pocket costs for repairs, replacements, and labor for ALL system components, even if outside the manufacturer’s limited warranty * Roof penetration warranty *Energy guarantee
The problem is industry-wide as explained by Cesar Barbosa who issued this industry-wide warning:
A bold prediction no one wants to hear: Half of all commercial solar systems installed before 2016 will be underperforming or non-operational by 2030…. [It is] a silent crisis unfolding on rooftops across America—a crisis I’ve been tackling firsthand since 2012, traveling the country with SunPower to address some of the industry’s most pressing system failures.
Across the country, tens of thousands of rooftop solar systems—once hailed as the clean energy revolution—are quietly decaying. Not because the technology failed, but because the industry did. We rushed to install. We cut corners. We promised 25 years of performance… and delivered systems that can’t make it past 10. [1]
Back to Sunnova, the busted rooftop solar leader. I have traced the fall of Sunnova Energy and founder/CEO John Berger with these prior posts:
- Sunnova Hype pre-Bankruptcy May 8, 2025
- Sunnova’s Net Zero for Stockholders (last ESG report of a ‘second-hander’ company) May 7, 2025
- John Berger: “Lifetime Achievement Award” for Sustainable Energy Future April 1, 2025
- Sunnova Going Solyndra? (Enron-ex John Berger owes taxpayers a bundle) February 12, 2025
- Sunnova’s Rooftop Solar: Selling a Bad Product Requires …. April 25, 2019
I now add another one for the historical record. This is the swan song of solar crony Meghan Nutting, EVP of government and regulatory affairs at Sunnova Energy International. “Today is my last day at Sunnova Energy,” she begins.
It’s been just over a decade since I started in May 2015 and in that time, the company grew from a few thousand customers to nearly half a million [now stranded customers]. I am the only person to have held my job at the company and I’m proud of the policy work I was able to do as part of the Sunnova team….
She continues:
A lot has happened, both professionally and personally, over the past ten years. In 2019, I had the honor of standing on the balcony while our CEO rang the bell at the NYSE the day Sunnova went public. Since starting at the company, I have spoken at more than 50 conferences and events, done numerous media interviews and podcasts, and traveled A LOT because democracy (and strong solar policy) is not a spectator sport. I founded and led Sunnova’s Women’s Leadership Network where we brought women in the company together for speakers, water cooler chats and happy hours. I put together a thread on X about why solar costs are what they are and the pressures installers face when building systems: https://lnkd.in/gu69z3S3. And I had an unexpected (and undesired) cameo on Fox News.
Incredible Projects?
I was fortunate to be able to work on incredible projects like DOE’s Puerto Rico Resilience Fund, Sunnova’s $3 billion loan guarantee through the Loan Programs Office, our groundbreaking microgrid application in CA, a petition to the FTC asking them to investigate electricity monopoly abuses of their power, an op-ed on why ratepayers shouldn’t have to pay for utility trade association or lobbyist spending, and a piece by Last Week Tonight on utilities trying to limit rooftop solar adoption: https://lnkd.in/g8WvXMMt
I was part of a brilliant team that fought for the industry in the CA NEM 3.0 battle and part of another amazing team that worked with the American Enterprise Institute on a paper about Innovating Future Power Systems [with faux Lynne Kiesling]. I also worked on [virtual power plant] policies and rollout across the country, brought up the concept of a SolarAPP for interconnection every chance I could, worked through details of consumer protection proposals in numerous states, talked about IRA guidance a lot, and testified at the International Trade Commission as part of my work on trade issues.
I was named one of the Denver Business Journal’s top women in energy for 2018 and one of the DBJ’s top women in business in 2021. I was also a 2021 C3E award winner from the U.S. Department of Energy in the business category. I participated in a few leadership programs such as Impact Denver, Leadership Arts and was part of the 2023 NREL Energy Execs class. I also ran unsuccessfully for the Colorado House of Representatives in 2017-18 (a huge thanks to anyone who donated to my campaign).
She added in a comment:
I had the honor of serving on the boards or advisory boards of Women in Solar Energy, the Energy Choice Coalition, the Solar Energy Industries Association, the PR Solar Energy and Storage Association, InvestHER, the Institute for Regulatory Law and Economics, GridFWD, my niece’s school PTA (which I also co-founded), the Colorado Young Democrats and as Captain of my House District.
I got to work closely with incredible organizations like Solar United Neighbors, the Solar Rights Alliance, the Interstate Renewable Energy Council, the Solar Foundation, the Center for Biological Diversity as well as some really incredible state solar trade associations and SEIA….
And in another comment:
I’ll be back. Because I very deeply believe in the value of solar. I recognize that we need unheard of amounts of energy to power our world and that rooftop solar can be built quickly, affordably and at scale and with minimal environmental impact. I want to make sure that consumers have the right to produce their own energy and that energy markets aren’t entirely controlled by monopolies who care only about their shareholder interests. I want to ensure our system operates efficiently using consumer-sited resources and demand side management so that we can keep rates affordable. I want to make sure consumers can participate in energy markets and are fairly compensated for their contributions.
Final Comment
Nice but naive words about a huge failure–a debacle–that will still play out. And chances are, with a major rollback of the Inflation Reduction Act, the Investment Tax Credit, the Production Tax Credit, and blockage of the ‘gold bars thrown off the Titanic,’ there will be no industry to return to. Just wind down.
It is hard to square Meghan Nutting’s parting comments with good, only bad. Her company failed everyone but a few employees, and no one more than founder/CEO John Berger. Her industry has failed its owners and customers too. Maybe she should join Berger on the witness stand should lawsuits and Congressional investigations ensue.
Will she realize someday that her solar journey was a mistake, a mirage, enabled by government at the expense of taxpayers and the federal debt? Maybe, but not today.
————————-
[1] Cesar Barbosa added: “Inverters are dying—many are already out of warranty, with no replacements available…. Wiring and electrical infrastructure that was never designed for 25+ years of exposure.”
Install quality? Forget it—an army of barely trained crews built the boom, and now we’re paying the price. Maintenance? There was no plan. Just a contract, a handshake, and a hope it would all work out.
This is not just an engineering issue—it’s a financial one. Underperforming assets are generating less revenue than forecasted, while increasing the risk of electrical faults, fire hazards, and insurance claims.
I presume all the principals cashed out long ago.
for sure. those Billions went into hefty salaries, bonuses and extravagant conferences and company events.
Of course, that’s how the grift works. Government “funds” their mock “business,” suckers known as “investors” are conniving into sinking their money into it, and then the grifters pull their own money out (or have already received “bonuses” or other excessive “compensation” for being merchants of bullshit), leaving somebody else holding the bag.
Yet, I STILLL get phone calls and mail urging my to go solar. After all, they say, the government will pay for it!
what did we expect when the only time a solar array puts out its rated wattage is on the days when it dips into low kelvin territory.
I was told eliminating fossil fuels would be quick, easy, cheap, and sustainable. (the other hand the truth was here at WUWT)
The post appears to have been double posted. The entire thing repeats itself after the Cesar Barbosa quotes.
a mirage, enabled by government.
That just about sums up the whole net zero project and idea. ‘Green job’ creation in the UK is well below half the number of jobs being shed in the North Sea. And yet still they cling to [their] mirage…
“it is hoped that Miliband’s community-led vision will drive the creation of green jobs”
https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk-politics/2025/06/ed-milibands-plan-to-marginalise-nigel-farage
“Rachel Reeves has declared that Labour’s plan for growth is “about making Britain better off” ahead of the reannouncement of the party’s pledge to create 650,000 new jobs through its green investment plans.”
https://labourlist.org/2024/06/labour-rachel-reeves-economy-green-prosperity-plan-650000-jobs-national-wealth-fund/
Starmer’s 1,000 jobs pledge could take 20 years, GB Energy boss admits
Labour hopes GB Energy will help workers move from oil and gas and has pledged 1,000 jobs for Aberdeen, where the initiative will be based.
https://news.sky.com/story/keir-starmers-1-000-jobs-pledge-could-take-20-years-gb-energy-boss-admits-13302168
No real plan… just a mirage. Blind faith, even.
Green jobs is a misnomer. They are red jobs as in red ink on the ledger.
Farming and forestry are real green jobs and they both need lots of ff. But many farms and forests are being paved over with ruinables.
I like the green in reference to farming and forestry, but also add horticulture. Flowers are colorful, but the plant is mostly green.
Mind reading the Democrat:
The working man – the builders of the plant – the workers in the plant – they had JOBS.
And now the mismanagement by the get-rich-quick CEOs has led to job loss. We must find and fund replacement jobs in the field they know – green energy.
__________ end of Mind Read
How’d I do?
You are hired. Now all we have to do is fund you with tax payer money (or dark money, your choice).
Watermelon jobs? Green on the outside…
VERY Good!
+10
Ed Miliband believes his policies will lead the UK to the promised land where companies will flock to the UK’s ever cheaper unreliable energy. He hasn’t apparently noted that achieving his ‘nirvana’ will require much more capacity, more connectors, huge grid expansion, lots of really big pylons decimating the countryside across the land, massive amounts of of battery storage -the list goes on and on. UK electricity prices are already higher than Germany’s and they are only going to go in one direction under his plans.
Cleaning the worse-than-useless panels with glass cleaner and rags are about the only “green jobs” they’ll “create.
I believe Portugal has already learned by experience that three REAL jobs are eliminated for every worthless “green job” created.
Those would be orange jobs reflecting their safety vests.
I like the guarantees: “Roof penetration warranty *Energy guarantee”
*I had a solar salesperson come by my house to pitch installing panels on my rooftop. I had just installed a new membrane roof to cure the many leaks into the house. I asked her if they could ensure the installation would not poke holes in my new roof. She said she would ask back at the office, I never heard back from her.
*Energy guarantee? I suppose the devel is in the details, but how can anyone guarantee the energy from a weather driven collection device?
This was doomed to fail.
Meghan Nutting sure does have a lot of energy! I’m impressed.
I might try some solar panels and storage one of these days, if electricity prices get more ridiculous.
But I wouldn’t be connected to any grid, I would just use what I got at home.
I have enough land that I would not have to mount the solar panels on my roof. The battery storage unit would be located away from the house, too.
Solar panels can be a solution for some people, but they are not up to the job of supplying our whole society with electricity.
Niche applications such as you describe, yes. Grid scale is not going to ever make it.
And even many or most of those niche applications won’t occur without subsidies and tax breaks.
Indeed. I costed it out once, using car battery arrays to power the house for days of no sun…cheaper to pay for the electricity
Yes, the costs are a problem. Of course, one can get a solar panel setup on the easy payment plan.
Since I have a big woodlot, I would probably be better off buying or building a wood-burning steam generator. Or, the easiest and cheapest way would be to convert the wood into wood gas and use that to fuel a standard generator.
Yes, and MUCH more reliable, too!
Yup. A propane generator with a big honking fuel tank will work better and cost less.
That honking would get on my nerves.
Some newer generators are much quieter.
research “grid tie microinverter”. make sure it has island protection
Please. Solar panels are no “solution” for anything, unless you live someplace with no access to the grid.
Solar panels atop the street light poles in parking lots is a solution.
I also have solar powered battery lights for my sidewalk.
Nice applications.
And even then, only occasionally and depending the season.
Another thing to consider is that, even if your solar isn’t connected to the grid, you still are, and benefit by that, without paying for that benefit. You would essentially be a leech, mooching off the system, and thus the other ratepayers (who aren’t leeches themselves).
Well, I do pay for the benefit of being connected to the grid. Imo, I pay too much. 🙂
I think powering a standard generator with wood gas from my woodlot would probably be my best alternative.
If I reduced my grid usage by using wood gas, would that still make me a grid leech?
I don’t think so. If I generate part or my electricity usage myself, that leaves more for the other people who are connected to the grid. I’m doing them a favor.
The idea, here, is to generate enough electricity to completely disconnect from the grid. You might have to learn to be very frugal, and use LESS energy.
If he is OFF the grid, then he is OFF the grid, so how can he still benefit, without paying for that benefit? People who live WAY out in the boonies, without electricity, with no ‘grid’ in sight, are able to (barely) survive using wind and/or solar. At no cost to them, once the equipment is up and running!
She certainly has the right name…sounds like she’s “nutting” in every one of those quotes.
I don’t think she was doing anything wrong by promoting solar panels, or at least, I don’t think she was being dishonest about it. She sounds like a True Believer to me. There are a lot of them out there. Sincere, but wrong.
She was probably following a script.
Like all of those door-to-door experts.
Good luck with that if you are located where winter occurs.
I’m not, but good point.
I think my best option is wood gas. That will work even in the winter and even at night. And I have lots of wood. I usually burn several big woodpiles around here every year. I’m getting ready to burn one in just a few days, after the rains stop. Just think, I could be making electricity and saving money with that wood!
Wood gas can power an automobile, too.
We had multiple tornado warnings here in Oklahoma this morning. None of them appeared too strong but people east of us should be on the lookout.
He claims to have a very large woodlot, so he would have PLENTY of fuel to keep his house warm. Man used wood-burning stoves for many centuries, LONG before we had electricity in any form.
Currently Tesla PowerWalls cost about $1000 per kWh. Average US daily consumption is ~30 kWh. Even if your home uses only half that, you’d need $10,000 worth of storage just to get through the night. A stretch of 5 or 6 days of cloudy weather would require an investment of North of $75,000.
Add to that the need for 5 times the solar panel capacity to recharge the depleted batteries over several sunny days. Even if you invested a couple hundred grand in a truly off-grid system, consider that it is probably not going to last more than 10 years assuming no major wind or hail storms before then. Better off investing $100,000 in an electrical utility stock and paying your electrical bills with the dividends.
There are Tesla batteries, 85 KWh or 100 KWh, to be had from wrecks – probably ~$20-25K each and you’d need at least 2 to charge up via a PV facility (which will be much larger than your home rooftop, usually). If you are a competent electrical engineer to hook it all together properly, it can be done (consider it a hobby project). Thomas Massie, the US representative from KY (Covington area, I believe) did this and claims to be off-grid. I think he is really in DC.
Of course, if you want be off-grid 100%, it is a little more complicated since one must hugely overbuild a PV facility, as noted, to have the extra energy to charge your batteries, while simultaneously running your home – winter and summer. The overnight storage alone requires the PV system to produce 2.5 times the daytime running demand (more in winter). It, at least, doubles again to charge a backup battery with which to charge your battery electric auto while you are tucked in your bed on a cold winter night.
Even in the Southern CA desert, you need at least 2.5X the PV area in winter compared to summer, assuming the same energy load as in summer, which it is not. Over most of the USA the ratio is 3 to 4. Cooling takes less energy than heating over most of the USA and heat pumps work better cooling in summer than heating in winter, especially when the temperature falls to freezing or below. Unfortunately, we all live year-round!
Storage of excess electricity from summer for winter use is an unsolved problem. It is really difficult and lossy. But, something has to be done with that excess summer electricity – boil water, if it cannot be stored? Somehow, no one looks at the whole picture, do they?
I think it is because fantasy is so much more fun than reality.
I would never even consider using a Li ion battery recovered from a wreck.
Unless I had a lot of hotdogs and marsh mellows.
And more than a few beers to make such a dangerously foolish attempt.
Look up Ambition Strikes on YouTube for some inspiration on an off grid solar power setup. They spent $50K. The main panels are mounted on a tiltable frame on top of a shipping container. The LiFePo4 battery bank and the electronics are inside the container. Outside are a military surplus diesel generator and a propane generator for recharging when the weather is too cloudy. The batteries provide them with about two weeks of power during constant overcast and minimal sunlight. After that system was complete they added a smaller system directly on their house, but those panels form an awning over the second floor deck on the west side of the building. There are some tall trees so those panels never get maximum sunlight.
The main reason they went with such a setup was the power company wanted $20K just to run a line to their property. Then there would be the cost of connecting it, plus the never ending monthly bill. So for 30K more than just getting power to the property they have all the power they need, never a power bill, and if something causes an outage to a lot of the power company customers, it doesn’t affect them.
I want to thank everyone who contributed.
I wanted to see the comments about me setting up a solar panel assembly, and I got just what I wanted, a good explanation of the costs and problems involved.
I think in my personal situation, I have better, much cheaper solutions than solar panels. Spending $25,000.00 to $50,000.00 on a solar panel setup is a bit much.
It approaches being insanity, for sure.
The people selling this snake oil are living in a fools paradise! Either that, or they are just as ignorant as they think WE are! I tend toward the latter.
So much for good paying “green” jobs.
More like non-paying “red” jobs.
Considered off and on for the last 18 years, but could not bring myself to make the investment. Cost was biggest concern. The cost for a system never decreased despite the claim. The other concern was maintenance, repair, replacement, compatibility (mixing and matching component parts) and whether the outfit would be around down the road.
I elected to pursue other measures to assist in reducing my electricity usage and monthly cost. Foam insulation, better windows, heat pump hot water heater, lighting and efficient appliances were a better investment so far.
What happens to rooftop solar when you need to replace (reshingle) your roof?
You pay extra for removal and any reinstall. Just don’t think for minute a roofer is going to touch them for you.
That too was a concern which I failed to mention.
I’ve considered, and rejected roof-top solar, as you have, for a long time. My decision was reinforced when I saw the neighbor across the street get roof-top solar and the installers placed about 1/3 of the panels on a north-facing roof. (We live in the Northern Hemisphere.)
Did you factor in the increase in Home Insurance, Home tax appraisal? cleaning, snow removal. etc. “maintenance, repair, replacement, compatibility (mixing and matching component parts)” –
I had to replace the Furnace for a Bass-board heating system which also heated the Hot Water because the Circulation pumps were no longer available, after it was only 7 years old. Only other solution was replacing the Hot-water baseboard system with individual heaters, often called hydronic systems, – price was through the roof and would have cost >$10,000. [larger piping, two story house, fishing 1-1/2 piping, base-molding replacement, plaster replacement, etc. etc.. …
Only affordable solution was the new Mini-Split Heat pumps.
Good points. Just further confirmation I made the correct decision.
I hope it does not get below freezing where you live.
And the chickens come home to roost
Story tip: a cargo ship, Morning Midas, carrying 3000+ Chinese cars is burning in Pacific.
https://www.news.uscg.mil/Press-Releases/Article/4206451/coast-guard-responds-to-vessel-fire-offshore-adak-alaska/
“…reportedly carrying a total of 3,159 vehicles, with 65 being fully electric vehicles and 681 being partial hybrid electric vehicles.”
Bloomberg reportedly suggests that an EV is the suspected culprit.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-06-05/burning-ship-bound-for-mexico-carried-several-chinese-car-brands
Hopefully EV’s will be banned from Parking Structures and tunnels.
And ships.
There is a ship burning as I write this off the coast of Alaska.
And ships, too!
(3,159 vehicles)*($25,000 is cheap for an electric vehicle) = $79 million.
Somebody is filing an insurance claim.
That story is on the Home page at WUWT. Someone can’t read.
It was not at the time of posting here.
Well, Sunnova beach–who’d of thunk it possible
How many home sales must now carry the label “for sale as is” or “buyer to verify all important facts” with junk system littering the roof?
I either wouldn’t look at a house with solar panels on it (or anywhere on the property, for that matter), or would require the removal and disposal of all related equipment as a condition of the purchase.
How about when the panels are leased and not purchased?
The buyer will get stuck with the lease in most cases. That’s one thing I would ask about if I was looking at a house with solar panels.
Just another shoot – ready – aim from the alarmists. What was expected to be an asset is turning into a liability for some homeowners. In my neighborhood rooftop solar owners were all grins and proud until something went wrong …. and they were left holding the bag and forced to rely on grid energy and their ‘savings’ became stranded assets. Not all, but a few and enough to make one think if it was worth the gamble. Here, being close to the ocean with corrosive salt in the air wasn’t accounted for in the quality of the wiring and especially all the connections required.
” Here, being close to the ocean with corrosive salt in the air wasn’t accounted for in the quality of the wiring and especially all the connections required.”
Thanks for pointing that out.
I thought a district court judge would prop it up.
Play nice with the CCP or they will shut down your system.
Remember the great Obama claim “we don’t pick winners” and the dastardly proclamation to all Americans from the Presidential podium “you have your head in the sand if you don’t believe our WH climate change emergency” via the Sierra Club script.
AND, the statement that a company could BUILD a coal-fired power plant, but the Feds would run them out of business. What an arrogant SNOT.
I think you have to do the sums. When I suffered a solar panel tendency, it seemed that it would take eleven years to get my money back given UK’s latitude and clouds. That excludes opportunity cost on the capex and assumes no deterioration. So I didn’t buy it
You set me thinking as there were already solar panels on the roof when I bought my house 2 years ago. So I looked up the figures.
They were installed in 2014 and cost the previous owner £8,500.
Over the past year they have produced 1590 kWh of electricity
July – Sept 503 kWh £126
Oct – Dec 213 kWh £54
Dec – Mar 118 kWh £30
Mar – Jun 756 kWh £193
The total income from the panels = £403. (= 25.3 p/kWh)
At this rate if I had bought the panels it would take 21 years to cover the capital outlay.
The £8,500 initial capital outlay could have earned £340 per year at 4% in a tax free ISA savings account, probably more if invested in a stocks and shares ISA.
Thank goodness I didn’t have it installed.
If offered a solar installation now, for me it would be a case of “thanks, but no thanks”.
I don’t know what the present cost of solar panel array is, but it can’t be much different, as the installation and paperwork I have been left with shows it was a very complicated job. (I hope the inverter sees me out.)
Good Luck, you’ll need it.
Rooftop solar is the swindle that swindles three ways – the taxpayers, the ratepayers, and eventually, the rooftop solar owners all get swindled, while Big Solar laughs all the way to the bank.
Ya right. First, my State Government stole my rights to sell my carbon credits AFTER the deal was made. Then, My solar company did not honor their sales pledge of 60,000 travel miles. Then, they went bankrupt and sold their warranty off to a third business that turned off their power reporting website. Now its a brick on my wall. However, a third company has offered to “replace” the reporting system for $2500
Hows that “Saving the Earth” thing going for democrats lately? This was after all, their idea.
Story Tip: https://www.cnn.com/2025/06/05/us/cargo-ship-fire-alaska-electronic-vehicles-hnk
Another non-reader.
Engineers spent years becoming experts of a technolohy that will mostly disappear. They’ll be attempting mid- to late- career transitions to entry level in related fields. Tough times.
Learn to code. So they can join us in the unemployment line.
Never mind that none of the energy is produced when needed. This is a blessing to everyone.
Sunnova. The latest Solydra.
Since this scam started in 1973 I have calculated the total annual cost of a roof top system of providing home heating and electrical. Every five years I gave gone through the TOTAL costs including insurance, Interest, Future value, maintenance, repair, replacement, compatibility (mixing and matching component parts). As an Electrical/Nuclear Engineer I could replace any component and maintain the system. I have always repaired my home HVAC. If I had put the money into a decent 401K I would have been able to pay for the needed home electricity from that investment after ~ 7 years with the future value of the investment for the rest of my life. In 1972 I was 30 I am now 83 and the calculations still show any thing that is called Renewable is a hole in the water you pour money into. PERIOD.
99% of the buyers were NOT engineers.
Obviously! If they had ANY exposure to physics, they’d be able to figure that out!
Sunnova did well for some employees indeed. The CEO, John Berger, paid himself around $5,000,000 per year. I wonder what Meghan was paid.