content: You're right. They are a joke but not only because of the replacement costs. Renewables destablise the grid everywhere they are put. The only way to fix that is to spend hundreds of millions or billions on grid connected battery storage to store power (those things aren't cheap to buy or maintain). That's massive cost incurred to the providers of the grid let alone the nightmare of splicing them into a grid not designed for them. In addition is the systemic costs of maintaining a non-predictable, renewable power supply. Power out of solar cells is anything but predictable across a single day across a large metropolitan / suburban area where cloud cover and adverse weather can destroy an entire areas ability to produce power. Which is provided from the grid which these freeloading pricks are barely paying for. But they'll argue averages or some garbage across time. At then end of the day the systemic costs to the grid are not included in renewables because that makes renewables look terrible. It's not just the whole "hurr durr it's getting cheaper" line from these people either, it's the fact that the public who can't afford to drop five figures on a solar array are subsidising their stupid, hippy, feel good crap which only does bad things to a grid designed from the ground up around large generators. Also, both solar panels and batteries are nothing but caustic to the environment. The industrial processes required to produce these at scale are terrible, especially for the current gen high capacity batteries. Then watch what happens to the renewable industry if you remove state subsidies. Prices spike.  Ultimately, the only power supply which can meet an industrialised country's power needs into the future is nuclear. But that's a whole 'nother thing. </rant> Edit: Just re-read the article. This price is likely to be driven down by excess panels coming out of China. You know, that bastion of environmental responsibility. Solar at the scale needed for the West is worse for the environment than those pushing it would like to admit. Including batteries which require rare earth minerals refined in places like this.