You’ve probably heard it: solar is too expensive. It’s a phrase that still floats around dinner tables, news comments, and local meetings — even as the facts have changed completely. Today, solar is one of the most affordable sources of electricity on the planet. In many regions, it beats fossil fuels on cost alone. So why does this old idea persist?
The short answer: history moves faster than perception. The long answer takes us through a mix of outdated information, psychology, and the slow churn of policy and access.
The Ghost of Solar’s Past: Outdated Data and Perceptions
In the 1970s, solar was a fringe technology. Panels were pricey to make, efficiency was low, and the industry was small. Even through the early 2000s, rooftop solar was largely a luxury purchase — something for early adopters and environmental enthusiasts with the means to invest.
Those days left an imprint. Once a narrative takes hold — solar is expensive, unreliable, and niche — it tends to linger. And because most people encounter solar in snippets of headlines or anecdotes, not through their own experience, that outdated picture sticks around long after it’s stopped being true.
The Upfront Cost Illusion: Long-term Savings versus Upfront Costs
Solar’s economics have transformed. The cost of panels has fallen by roughly 80% in the last decade, and installation is faster, easier, and more standardized than ever. But here’s the thing: people don’t think in lifetime savings. They think in price tags.
Even when solar saves money month after month, the idea of an upfront cost — whether it’s a few thousand dollars for a home system or just the mental image of one — creates what economists call “sticker shock.”
And even though programs like community solar or no-upfront-cost subscriptions make solar accessible without owning panels at all, that message still hasn’t reached everyone. The perception of expense lingers because most people’s mental image of solar hasn’t updated since the days of roof-mounted systems and big checks.
Complexity Keeps the Myth Alive: Solar Pricing Can Be Hard to Understand
Solar isn’t sold like most products. Between tax credits, rebates, net metering, and subscription programs, it’s not always obvious how the numbers work — even for people who want to understand them. The complexity gives myths room to grow.
When something’s complicated, people fill in the blanks with what they’ve heard before. If the last time someone looked into solar was five or ten years ago, they might remember higher costs, longer payback periods, or uncertain savings.
The industry has made huge progress on all those fronts — but unless people see those changes in action, they don’t necessarily believe them.
Who Gets to See Solar’s Benefits: Uneven Access to Financing and Ownership Models
There’s also the visibility problem. If your neighbors don’t have solar panels, or your community doesn’t have a local solar farm, it’s easy to assume solar isn’t for you. For renters, small businesses, or people living in multifamily housing, traditional rooftop solar has always seemed out of reach.
Community Solar Solves for Energy Inequality
That’s where community solar comes in — offering clean energy access and savings to anyone who pays an electricity bill. But because the concept is newer, it hasn’t yet replaced the old assumption that solar only works if you own a home and a roof.
The Role of Misinformation and Outdated Messaging around Solar: The Familiar Gets Entrenched
We can’t ignore the influence of deliberate messaging, either. For years, fossil fuel–aligned groups and some utilities have emphasized solar’s supposed “high costs” or “hidden subsidies.” It’s an effective tactic: once doubt is planted, it’s hard to dislodge. Even neutral reporting sometimes repeats those old figures without realizing they’re outdated.
The result is a lingering haze of half-truths that obscure how cost-competitive solar has become — especially when paired with today’s energy storage and financing options.
Change Feels Slow, Even When It’s Fast
Finally, there’s a simple truth about human psychology: we anchor on what we first learned. Once we’ve decided something is expensive, it takes more than new data to change that belief — it takes new experiences. And those experiences often depend on policy catching up with technology.
Lag in Policy and Utility Structures
In some areas, policies haven’t yet caught up to the economics. Interconnection delays, outdated compensation rules, or limited community solar availability can make solar effectively more expensive or harder to access — keeping the perception alive even in the face of falling technology costs and where the economics make sense.
The New Reality of Solar - Low-Cost Electricity
Here’s the reality: solar power is now one of the cheapest ways to generate electricity, period. Utility-scale solar projects deliver power at record-low costs, and residential and community solar programs let everyday people share in those savings without massive upfront investments.
But public perception always lags behind innovation. Myths have a long half-life. The best way to replace them isn’t with more charts or slogans — it’s with real examples of people and communities benefiting from clean, affordable energy.
When a neighbor saves money through a local community solar subscription, or a small town powers itself with a new solar farm, the myth fades a little more.
Solar isn’t too expensive anymore. The story just needs to catch up to the reality.
