I'm going to weigh in on solar. I have an all-electric, 3,000 square foot home. I have no electric bill. I have a plug-in Prius. I will soon have an electric car, replacing the Prius. I have not paid for electricity in over 8 years. PG&E actually owes me money (which I do not care about). I have an 8.2K solar system on my roof. With net metering and grid connectivity, I do not worry about anything. Power outage? I just start my Honda generator I have for camping. My initial investment was $15,000. My return on investment (ROI) was just over 4 years (50 months). I will have saved over $100,000 in electric costs in 25 years (plus any increases of PG&E Costs). My system will last in excess of 40 years. All parts are warrantied for 25 years. Panasonic, the panel manufacture, has been around since 1918, so I do not see them disappearing anytime soon. Enphase, the micro-inverter manufacture, is a worldwide Fortune 500 corporation. There is no maintenance per se. I hook my RV brush to a hose. Climb up my extension ladder and brush off the dust and dirt twice a year. It takes less than 10 minutes. I can monitor each panel separately through my phone or computers. If I ever needed to replace a panel or micro-inverter, it requires removing 4 nuts and unplugging the panel. Yes....it is that simple. 95% of solar panels are recyclable, more than a car.
Solar is here to stay. Electric cars will become the norm. It may take some time, but, it will happen. Somewhere along the line, a newer source of energy will replace solar, hydro, wind, fossil fuels, geo thermal, ect. My guess is hydrogen.
