I get your point that in modern society, you can invest in an ETF in a few clicks, but in a way, owning your own infrastructure is simpler. Transform the sun into energy reserves with parts you can buy, understand, and install yourself from wholesalers.
A power company is opaque, carries overhead, and requires complexity to serve at an institutional level. ETFs have a similar complexity/abstraction to their customers.
> For example, CATL is one of four LFP battery suppliers at the Zhangbei National Wind-Solar-Storage Demonstration Project in China. CATL’s batteries are the only ones that have never been replaced, retaining over 90% of residual capacity after 14 years.
Batteries are not only not worthless after almost 15 years in service, they still have sufficient capacity to continue to operate. If you need that capacity back lost to degradation, add a battery ~15 years from now, they will only continue to get cheaper.
Maybe, but that power is typically generated far from where it's consumed and so you have significant transmission losses.
Not for everyone, but definitely for homeowners with suitable roofs and local utilities.
I'm happy to pay monthly to let my electrical provider handle all that, and I'll invest my money in something with a better return.
I personally like simplicity, I'd rather have money in an index fund and just pay a monthly bill over having a complicated solar+battery+car charger install at my house that I have to manage through various apps and dashboards.
If it is about impact on the world, invest in a clean energy index fund. Large solar farms and neighbourhood batteries operate at a much higher efficiency than domestic installations.