By Zachary Shahan / Source: Treehugger

First of all, let’s get this out of the way: there are almost always anomalies or exceptions. There certainly are when it comes to solar-powered transportation. Some people genuinely can’t go solar. Some people have to drive hundreds of miles a day and can’t afford a Tesla. If you’re an anomaly in this story, that’s unfortunate. But if you haven’t looked into these matters in depth, please don’t just assume that you’re an anomaly!

If I didn’t follow the solar industry or the electric vehicle industry for a living, I’d probably think what the majority of people think: they’re “the future” but not “the present.” Knowing these technologies and markets like the back of my hand, I’m happy to say that not only could “driving on sunshine” be a cost-competitive option for many of you non-converts, but it could be a much better choice for you in a number of ways.

Cost is probably the first thing to tackle, though. If you’re in the majority (the target audience in this story), money is tight and cost is a critical factor when it comes to a big purchase. For a ton of people, solar power and an electric car simply make better financial sense. You may need to wait a few years for that to kick in, but often not very many… if any at all.

In the case of solar power, while utility-scale solar is just becoming cheaper than fossil fuels on the wholesale electricity market, rooftop solar panels have long competed with much-higher retail electricity prices. If you have a roof with a view of the sun, there’s a good chance solar pays off, and then puts tens of thousands of dollars into your pocket over the following decades. But you simply have to get a quote from a solar installer (or more than one) and compare it to projected electricity prices (and include tax credits or rebates). If you can’t pay in cash or get a good loan for some reason, there’s a chance you can go solar for $0 down and save money from the first month (but possibly less over the coming decades). If you’re American, with the US federal tax credit set to expire at the end of 2016 and solar prices at a super-low level, now is really the time to look into the option.

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