Can you make money with a small solar farm?

[1pittsburgh]

I'm not looking for political stuff or angry opinions. I'm looking for unbiased math. Including any potential government incentives, etc., can a person buy say 10 acres of reasonably priced land, fill it with solar panels, and make a profit on it? Here in rainy western PA? How about in sunnier locations? I've read up on it a bit, but definitive unbiased answers are hard to find. From what I've read so far, one consideration would be finding reasonably priced land that's close enough to the end users of the electricity.

[yinzerpgh]

I'm no expert on solar power, I also don't have any solar panels on my residence, and I did not stay at a holiday inn express last night lol, but what I can tell you is that my friend had panels put on his house in March. He pays the solar company a flat fee every month (for the cost of the panels) but has a $0 electric bill because they installed enough panels to provide his home with 101% of the power. Any excess (somehow) goes back into the grid, and the excess he provides during daylight is compensated in the evenings when the panels are not generating power.

I guess my point is, I think you'd be hard pressed to make a profit, but that's strictly my uneducated opinion.

[1pittsburgh]

So his panels are probably generating somewhere between $200-400 per month worth of electricity at retail prices. I've also talked to a guy who's breaking even on his solar panels, but it also includes charging his Tesla, but these people have what, probably only a few percent of one acre's worth of panels? Could you generate $50,000-100,000 per month worth of power at retail prices? What percentage of that would the power company pay you? I believe it's measured in kilowatt hours, so you'd need to know what they're paying per kilowatt hour, and how much you can generate. So far all I've been able to come up with are questions. LOL

[HDGristle]

Edit: NVM.

[yinzerpgh]

Originally Posted by 1pittsburgh

So his panels are probably generating somewhere between $200-400 per month worth of electricity at retail prices. I've also talked to a guy who's breaking even on his solar panels, but it also includes charging his Tesla, but these people have what, probably only a few percent of one acre's worth of panels? Could you generate $50,000-100,000 per month worth of power at retail prices? What percentage of that would the power company pay you? So far all I've been able to come up with are questions. LOL

The older I get, the more cynical I get -

No company is going to give you anything that they can't profit from themselves first, so you would have to generate mega-gigawatts lol of power to net yourself 50K in profits. Again, just my uneducated opinion. Also note that, if people could make 50K a month profit, there would be solar farms everywhere. Shit, I'd level my own place and put panels on my property if I could make even 10K a month!

[1pittsburgh]

Originally Posted by yinzerpgh

The older I get, the more cynical I get -

No company is going to give you anything that they can't profit from themselves first, so you would have to generate mega-gigawatts lol of power to net yourself 50K in profits. Again, just my uneducated opinion. Also note that, if people could make 50K a month profit, there would be solar farms everywhere. Shit, I'd level my own place and put panels on my property if I could make even 10K a month!

I didn't mean 50-100K in profits. I meant retail value. You're right that DLC or whoever would take a big chunk.

[Chase7]

What about the batteries cost, maintenance, life, disposal and replacement.
The charging and distribution equipment.

There’s more than panels.

[HDGristle]

Since you went there... yes. And I'd wager you're talking about a half-million investment per acre to generate enough MW at scale for about a 10% profit annual profit years down the road.

[bambino]

Buy a car wash. If you have enough cash. And a good credit rating.,

[1pittsburgh]

Originally Posted by HDGristle

Since you went there... yes. And I'd wager you're talking about a half-million investment per acre to generate enough MW at scale for about a 10% profit annual profit years down the road.

Thank you.

[1pittsburgh]

Originally Posted by Chase7

What about the batteries cost, maintenance, life, disposal and replacement.
The charging and distribution equipment.

There’s more than panels.

My understanding is that in the type of solar farm that I'm talking about, you don't need batteries. You're sending the electricity that the panels generate into the power grid, and the electric company is paying you for it. Batteries are only needed for off grid operations where you're storing the electricity generated by the panels, and using it for various closed loop applications.

[HDGristle]

You will want some form of storage to play the TOU game. That can work both ways when it comes to the variable rates.

You wouldn't need it, but it could help you min/max and generate more $'s