These 26 panels on a roof in Round Rock, Texas are the most recent project I’ve funded.
Since I’ve committed to directing 10% of my revenue to net new solar projects, and it has been about two years since my last update, I figured it’s time for a brief accounting! Since the May, 2019 post, I’ve funded one more solar project in a suburb of Austin, Texas, an 8.7kw project, for a total installed capacity of 45kw across all the rooftop solar.
And over all the years these systems have been installed - ranging from a little over one year for that Texas system, to over ten years old for the panels on my own home - they have generated a net total of 187MWh. This total is roughly equivalent to supplying 17 “average” homes for one year, so although it’s a lot of solar, it’s still a drop in the bucket in the grand scheme of America’s energy consumption.
Real progress on transitioning to a clean energy future depends on all of us doing what we can to install solar on our own homes, as well as renewable investments at the regional and national level. The United States may soon make real progress with some off-shore wind turbine installations, but these don’t come fast, cheap, or easy - so if you’re looking for some small way to contribute, please write your congressperson in support of projects like this.