Solar Co-ops?

lasitter

I understand the appeal of solar co-ops for a lot of folks. A kilowatt is what it its even if it doesn't come from your own roof.

But here's something I don't understand: If making solar power is so much easier and efficient in Arizona, why can't I buy into a co-op where it's efficient, as opposed to beating solar out of a cloudy climate in the wrong latitude?

I know it all comes down to the regulations and tax credits, but it seems to me that if we were doing this right, you'd get net metering and SRECs no matter how or where the solar were generated.

Transmission losses are not such that we can't make electricity in one place and use it somewhere else. The dramatically lower cost per generated watt of making electricity where the sun is should completely cover this.

Thanks in advance for telling me what I'm missing.