Land is expensive in many places. Go somewhere it is very cheap, and you'll find fields of windmills and the occasional field full of solar panels.
In fact, Texas had a 350 megawatt install taken out by a hail storm earlier this year. It made the rounds in the news and even here on HN if memory serves. That's still not even close to the big projects though. Vista Sands in Wisconsin has a 1.3 gigawatt install planned that will cover nearly ten thousand acres.
The only reason residential rooftop solar became the industry it did was the massive subsidies handed out to consumers to make it financially viable. Without that, larger field installs and off-grid setups would be the bulk of what you hear about in most of the country.
> The only reason residential rooftop solar became the industry it did was the massive subsidies handed out to consumers to make it financially viable.
Savings per Watt can be a lot larger for residential though, as you save the all-in price of electricity (electricity price + transport fees + other fees + taxes) while solar farms only earn the wholesale price.
Yes, the return on rooftop solar is way better than commercial solar.
Firstly, is saving a cost (which you would pay with after-tax money.) So as a saving, not income, the return is tax free.
Secondly homes buy electricity at retail rates (thus rooftop is effectively earning at retail rates) whereas commercial sells at wholesale rates, which is likely a small multiple. (And of course, being commercial, that income is taxed.)
Yes, in high-cost places (like the US) subsidies were necessary to foster the industry and get enough demand to get prices down. In other places the math makes sense without subsidies.
Incidentally it's a LOT easier to do 1000 rooftop installs than 1 solar farm. There's no planning, utility agreements, large scale financing etc. You just install and move on. A small team (4 people) can easily do 2 houses a week. With only one qualified electrician needed.
The cost of land is a minor part of the cost of a PV field. As for wind, it uses only a small fraction of the land in which a wind field is placed, because the turbines have to be spaced so they don't interfere with each other.
rooftop solar in the summer is more efficient since it shaddows the roof, reducing cooling demand. in meant areas that is enough to pay for the extra install cost.
In fact, Texas had a 350 megawatt install taken out by a hail storm earlier this year. It made the rounds in the news and even here on HN if memory serves. That's still not even close to the big projects though. Vista Sands in Wisconsin has a 1.3 gigawatt install planned that will cover nearly ten thousand acres.
The only reason residential rooftop solar became the industry it did was the massive subsidies handed out to consumers to make it financially viable. Without that, larger field installs and off-grid setups would be the bulk of what you hear about in most of the country.