This is simply pure NIMBI issue which also hits nuclear power.

“That's only true to the degree that the energy cost of building an energy system is directly proportional to the dollar cost, which is often very not true.”

This is an economic argument if X$ buys you K energy from the cheapest energy source it buys some number less than K from more expensive energy sources. Thus the least expensive energy source must have positive EROI. As solar is capital intensive interest payments representing zero energy are a significant cost, which pushes up the minimum possible EROI.