Solarcity

The solar panel industry and the electric car industry depend heavily on government assistance, mostly in the form of subsidies and a good example of this has surfaced in Nevada. Billionaire Elon Musk chairs a company called Solarcity in Nevada and the state has a net metering law. Net metering policies force utilities to buy electricity produced by rooftop solar panels at retail rates, which means companies can’t cover the fixed cost of operating the electrical grid. Since only relatively wealthy people can afford the high instillation cost of roof top solar panels the rest of the general population subsidizes the cost by paying higher electric rates. In many states net metering has been set up so that regular ratepayers subsidize the few wealthy homeowners who can actually afford to put up solar panels on their homes. A large electric power company recently won a court battle which greatly limits the ability of net metering and this has affected companies like Solarcity. The policy change shocked investors who ditched Solarcicty stock and devalued the company by roughly $165 million in a single day. Net metering policy changes could be implemented in 20 other states which would dramatically alter the economics of rooftop solar according to MIT Technology Review.