(At the very end of the article, some hint is given as to where the author is located.)
Those numbers - for USA, and for 2022 - seem very high.
Author obtained 7.56 kW of panels with a single phase inverter for a list price of USD$26k - which was reduced via subsidies down to USD$19k actual.
Here in Australia, 24 months ago I had 12kW of panels with a 10kW three-phase inverter installed for an on-paper price of AUD$13k (USD$9k), similarly subsidised with government incentives down to AUD$8k (USD$5k).
I'm about 200km north-west of Sydney ('regional' by any definition), and installation involved 3 guys for one full day (presumably they were a multi-day loop to customers in the area, as we're 3h from their base).
In any case, ignoring post-subsidy delta, why are the list prices so savagely different? I know all these panels and inverters come out of China, but I'd have expected stateside pricing to be much more competitive a year ago than rural Straya pricing two years ago.
In terms of finances / payback - author seems to overlook one (mostly positive) feature, which is the behavioural changes of 'free' power. It's summer here now which means regular 40C+ temperatures, and so the air conditioners (3 x 500W max draw) go on daily, automatically, for 10:00/17:00. This obviously improves QoL but also some non-obvious benefits - extends shelf life of food, takes a significant load off the fridge, etc.
Basically, a raw comparison of before/after often won't be as compelling as it assumes no changes to how you consumer power. I've got $0.33 export / $0.07 per kWh, so the trade-off is slightly simpler to calculate -- along with the installation of an $80 timer switch for the 1800W HWS (only draws power during the middle of the day) I calculate effective payback for me is in the order of 3-4 years.
Anything in the US that will reduce the profit of established players in a given industry is heavily taxed and very expensive. This is the results of decades and billions of dollars in lobbying (i.e. a legal way to give politicians money so they pass laws to help you make more money)
Your panels might be 3x more productive, being in sunny Australia. Where does the author live in the US? I either missed it or he didn't say. Even then, the layout of his roof could have a big effect.
Another point is that certain solar panel imports are tariffed as much as 30% in the US in order to protect the (non-existent?) domestic solar panel manufacturering industry. But it appears Biden temporarily suspended it about 6 months ago. Unclear whether this added to his purchase price.
Author mentions New England, which I gather is a large-ish area, but let's say about 44 degrees north.
I'm 33 degrees south, so obviously 'better' in terms of solar potential. We probably also have fewer cloudy days (though much hotter days during summer, I'm not sure how that compares out over the year).
My panels are not optimally installed, at least not optimally for capture - but definitely optimally for installation cost. I have a gable-roof shed facing roughly NW, with 22 panels on the NW side, and 11 on the SE side. Roof slope is about 9 degrees.
I just start to flat-line my 10kW inverter, fed from 12kW panels, about 3 weeks (on the winter side) of the equinoxes - so there's definitely room to improve the configuration there. FYI in summer I generate average ~70kWh a day, and in winter about 30.
It sounds like author put these panels on in late 2021 --which should post-date the worst of the COVID-induced shipping/trade bumps, and pre-date the Ukraine / Russia induced effects.
EDIT: You mentioned "... tariffed as much as 30% in the US ..." -- I agree that kind of figure could be explained by duties, tariffs, etc, but the difference here is actually 3x (26k vs 9k) for a system that's only about 60% the capacity of mine. A like-for-like system, extrapolating from TFA's numbers, would be US$35k, or nearly 4x difference.
(At the very end of the article, some hint is given as to where the author is located.)
Those numbers - for USA, and for 2022 - seem very high.
Author obtained 7.56 kW of panels with a single phase inverter for a list price of USD$26k - which was reduced via subsidies down to USD$19k actual.
Here in Australia, 24 months ago I had 12kW of panels with a 10kW three-phase inverter installed for an on-paper price of AUD$13k (USD$9k), similarly subsidised with government incentives down to AUD$8k (USD$5k).
I'm about 200km north-west of Sydney ('regional' by any definition), and installation involved 3 guys for one full day (presumably they were a multi-day loop to customers in the area, as we're 3h from their base).
In any case, ignoring post-subsidy delta, why are the list prices so savagely different? I know all these panels and inverters come out of China, but I'd have expected stateside pricing to be much more competitive a year ago than rural Straya pricing two years ago.
In terms of finances / payback - author seems to overlook one (mostly positive) feature, which is the behavioural changes of 'free' power. It's summer here now which means regular 40C+ temperatures, and so the air conditioners (3 x 500W max draw) go on daily, automatically, for 10:00/17:00. This obviously improves QoL but also some non-obvious benefits - extends shelf life of food, takes a significant load off the fridge, etc.
Basically, a raw comparison of before/after often won't be as compelling as it assumes no changes to how you consumer power. I've got $0.33 export / $0.07 per kWh, so the trade-off is slightly simpler to calculate -- along with the installation of an $80 timer switch for the 1800W HWS (only draws power during the middle of the day) I calculate effective payback for me is in the order of 3-4 years.