A utility scale power plant has a life of 60 to 100 years if left to normal operations and maintenance. No subject to early closing. Small hydro 120 years.
Solar has a design life of 20 years and may run 25 if all goes well. Rooftop solar has to come off each time the roof has to be replaced, so matching the roof replacement with the lifecycle of the solar panels is a reasonable plan to minimize total costs.
No solar installer I have ever chatted with has ever discussed the costs associated with removing solar from the roof of a house. Online estimates range from $3,000 dollars to $6,000 dollars to remove 30 panels, none of the estimates provide whether after removal the panels are good to be returned to the roof or not.
Warranties on Inverters range from a low of 3 years to the very best of 25 years, but 10-12 years is typical, and that tends to be a warranty that pays based on the estimated remaining life, not the replacement costs. If you have a 10-year warranty and the inverter stops in year 9, you will get 10% of the cost of the inverter in most cases. PV magazine says the average life of an inverter is 10-15 years.
What are the costs to keep on producing solar over an 80-year period?
1)Â Â Â Â Â Initial solar panel installation and at least 3 replacements
2)Â Â Â Â Â Initial inverter costs and 3 (if you are lucky) to up to 7 replacements.
3)Â Â Â Â Â Removal costs 3 times over 75 years
4)Â Â Â Â Â Tipping fees for 3 warn out sets of panels (tipping fees can apply not to just landfills, but recyclers)
5)Â Â Â Â Â Permits for initial and replacement wiring.
6)Â Â Â Â Â In some locations applications fees for each installation with the utility in question
7)Â Â Â Â Â Homeowners insurance rider costs for the system
Not part of these costs are roof replacement costs, they would happen anyway. Though you have more penetrations through the roof and that may or may not result in leaks in the roof, great installers work very to avoid these problems.
If the storage portion of the system is Lithium-ion, there will likely be a disposal fee (even if recycled) and a new battery fee every 8-12 years that is at least 60% of the initial battery costs.
Depending on how well the wiring is secured, it may or may not need replacing with the panels where the wiring leaves the roof and goes down the wall of the house, because the wind and weather pushed it back and forth on the edge of the roof.
Many people will say “I only going to live here 5 or 6 years” so they will not consider that many private home inspectors take the age of the system and calculate the costs that the new owner will face and deduct those costs from the value of the home.
Some will say that their homeowner’s insurance will cover any issues, likely they will not, and raise the cost of the homeowner’s insurance if they find out there is a battery or raise the cost of insurance. In at least 2 states they are cancelling insurance if you add a battery.Â
