Solar Panels, Carbon Footprint, Rugged Individualism

Deploying solar panels (photovoltaic or thermal) to collect zero carbon energy for our use is one of the most important things we can do to reduce climate change. It is also the case that rooftop solar–putting solar panels on top of buildings–is a remarkably synergistic option.

The main thing solar panels need is sky facing surface area. Rooftops (minus those few which have patios) are generally unoccupied spaces facing the sky. By placing panels here, we aren’t displacing crops, or people, or nature of any kind. It is an area that is basically unused, but which can be made to be productive. And, it’s even synergistic with the one limited use of roofs that we do have–rain collection. Placing panels on a roof does not limit your ability to collect and use the rain that also falls on the roof for irrigation or greywater.

Finally, the location is ideal. Transmitting electrical energy is a solved problem, but it is still not free. The closer the generation can be to the usage of that energy, the more efficient the system will be, and we use energy almost exclusively in and around buildings. Therefore generating it on top of those buildings is the most efficient place to do it. And since solar panels do not have any of the negative consequences of pollution or noise that other electrical sources have, they do not disturb the enjoyment of the people living and working there.

So solar panels, especially those on rooftops are a wildly good idea for climate action.

And yet, the way we think of them and implement them, especially for individual homes, is a fairly broken, even harmful thought process.

Individual vs. Collective

The biggest problem with how solar panels are envisioned, is that it is a method of reducing one’s individual climate footprint. I’ve previously discussed the problems with individualism in climate action, and why fossil fuel companies push for it.

In general, the problem is that our power comes collectively, and individually, we actually have little control over the systems we use. Fossil fuel companies push for an individualist mindset because it limits our power and is extremely effective because it plays into our cultural beliefs around individualism.

But when it comes to power generation, this is manifested in a very literal sense. In most cases, solar rooftop installations are not off-grid (I’ll discuss ones that are later), so customers are still connected to and reliant upon the grid. When the sun isn’t shining, a person is dependent on the grid for power. But worse, that grid power is dirtier then, because cleaner sources of power are no longer available. They are relying on the grid exactly when the grid is most strained and reliant on dirty sources of power.

This is a real problem with solar (and other renewable energy), but when integrated into the grid, that problem is amortized across the entire grid. When we use grid power, we see our CO2 emissions in our carbon footprint averaged. However, when a person has solar PV on their roof, they still have the illusion of having their usage amortized rather than using the least efficient power. It gives a user a false impression of being clean.

Worse, the whole point of grid tied solar PV is to make the grid cleaner. An individual cannot claim to personally benefit from that solar energy, while also claiming to be connected to a cleaner grid.

Instead we must look at things holistically. A person with grid tied solar is contributing to having a cleaner grid, but they are still using grid power. They are making a collective act, not an individualist act. And yet, I constantly see solar sold as an individualist act. I’ve heard people argue that because they have solar panels their homes are green. It is essentially individual greenwashing.

This is most telling when we look at how battery storage is sold. Battery storage is important on the grid, because it means renewable energy can be stored, so excess clean energy can be captured at peak times and then used when there is a deficit of clean energy. It replaces dirty forms of power for that same use like natural gas peaker plants.

But battery storage in homes is not used that way. It is sold as a way of further decoupling from the grid. By storing your excess solar energy (instead of contributing it to the grid) and then running off batteries in the evening when the sun goes away.

And this isn’t without merit, this does help solar power get used better across the day, but it ignores the needs of the power grid. Perhaps it is a very windy evening and the power is very clean, it would be better to use grid power, and then run off batteries overnight when the wind dies down. But I have never seen battery storage integrated into the grid this way. It is always sold again as an individual climate action strategy.

The power grid is the most incredible machine we have ever built (it is a single machine–at least over a certain geographic area–it is a set of generators all synchronized and moving together). Having this grid (or rather, these several grids) is an incredible advantage to our civilization, it lets us optimize and efficiently move power from areas of plenty (sunny or windy) to areas that are quiet on any given day. This is by far the most effective way to make renewables more effective on the grid.

The power grid is a collective act by humans. When we treat it as an individualist act, we diminish, even harm it. A Youtuber, Technology Connections has a great video (this is his secondary channel, his main channel more scripted but equally in depth discussions of esoterica around various topics, they’re definitely interesting if you want a deep dive into topics as varied as dishwashers to the power grid) where he discusses both the economic and equity issues with our current strategy around rooftop solar. He does a great job of discussing why the power grid is important to maintain and why the individualist mindset is harmful to it.

And this is to say nothing of the fact that all of our manufactured goods, all of the stores we visit, our workplaces, schools, places of recreation and worship are all also reliant on the power grid. A home may be totally clean, but if the power grid isn’t, we are all still using that dirty power.

Rugged Individualism

While most solar installations are grid tied, some are not. And, in remote areas where grid utilities are infeasible, that’s actually a great option. But grid tied or not, solar energy seems to give a certain type of individual the impression that they are free from dependency on others, that the lack of connection to the grid means that they are self made.

This is simply silly and toxic. Unless they have a silicon mine in their backyard, and a silicon manufacturing process in their basement, they cannot manufacture solar panels on their own.

Like it or not, we are all interdependent in today’s world. This illusion of rugged individualism that seems to be taking over in some people’s minds is an illusion. We must find a way to bring these individuals back into the idea that living and working together, collectively is a good thing. That humans do best when they act collectively. That the luxuries of modern life are dependent on that co-operation. And the solutions to our problems are too.

So, does solar power mean you can be off grid? Absolutely. But you are just as dependent on the modern world as anyone else.

In general I think we need to have a more collectivist mindset. I’m not sure if, with the proper policies, individualism can be leveraged to create collective benefits, but it is clear that with rooftop solar energy, and especially when battery storage is included, those policies are not working towards a collective goal. They are simply creating more individualism.