“We own the means of production that creates these panels” would be the real reply, were it not that China (and maybe more importantly: Chinese companies) is producing the majority of panels.
The US Government is absolutely fucking over its people with this because if solar panels are cheap, the installation cost makes its money back quicker, and people are simply leaving money on the table rather than waiting 15+ years for the investment to pay itself back.
According to recent studies, solar power is now cheaper or on a pathway to becoming comparatively cheaper than oil/fossil fuels very soon. Theoretically, if you were appointed to be the leader of a completely new country and given all the resources to start one, it would now be way cheaper and faster to use solar panels out of the gate, with no need for fossil fuels. 100 percent renewable and still have multiple backup systems and alternative green fuel sources.
If you had the chance to change how people consume as well, solar does nothing at night and that’s when people usually are at home. Renewables are the way to go but some storage or backup is needed.
Of course, backup and fault tolerance and diversity is always needed. I have read though that with improvements in technology, renewable energy is already better at being stored than fossil fuels.
Precisely, which is why the US is imposing massive tariffs on Chinese EVs and PVs.
Precisely this. The real reason for the establishment opposition to renewables (and the large establishment favour for nuclear instead) is that they are decentralised by their very nature. Solar power's infrastructure lends itself to being owned by the people, not by the bourgeoisie.
