Fundamental problem of this type of article: comparing
$/kWh across energy sources without accounting for energy dispatchability. (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dispatchable_generation" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dispatchable_generation</a>)
See people commenting on Germany and Portugal situations or articles by this man (<a href="https://medium.com/@oliviercorradi" rel="nofollow">https://medium.com/@oliviercorradi</a>)
> “There’s also the fact that companies just can’t be bothered a lot of the time – there are roofs all over Europe where solar could probably save money, but people are not jumping to do it.”<p>That's why believing in market forces alone is a little naive. There has to be a little nudge from the government.
From engineering standpoint it is not an easy task to balance random load that comes and goes from solar, centralized solar plants is one thing but panels on the roof is another. While electricity is abundant running the grid is not such an easy task as it may seem. So this might explain why there is such push back from utility companies against uncontrolled user solar devices connected to their grid.
This isn't meant to be troll-y / snark-y, but if the USA factored out subsidies for Big Oil, and then added in the military costs associated with keeping the oil flowing, that would make solar look much more attractive.