Answering common questions about solar panels in Florida

Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios

There's still a lot of confusion around taking advantage of solar energy in the Sunshine State.

What's happening: Last weekend, we wrote about solar panel adoption and received an outpour of questions from readers. So today, we'll try to answer some of them, starting with usage across the state.

The big picture: Florida has the capacity to produce more solar power than most states, but homes are still a fraction of its solar panel installations, per the national trade group Solar Energy Industries Association.

Between the lines: Florida, unlike many states, doesn't have power purchase agreements, which arrange for a developer to install a solar energy system on a customer's property and sell the power generated to the customer at a fixed rate often lower than the retail rate.

Here are some other reader questions about solar panels:

Residents across the state have reported being dropped by their homeowner's insurance companies for getting solar panels.

State of play: Solar panels are typically included in most homeowners insurance policies with no separate coverage required. But smaller regional insurers have recently tightened underwriting rules that impact solar, Insurance Information Institute spokesperson Mark Friedlander told Axios.

What they're saying: "Florida is the most volatile homeowners insurance market in the country," Friedlander told Axios.

Pro tips: If you're planning on installing solar panels and find out your insurer doesn't cover them, you can ask your insurance agent to find another company that will, Friedlander said.

It varies. Laura Tellez, Solar United Neighbors' South Florida program associate, told Axios that it's dependent on customers' situations and how they financed their solar panels.

FYI: The nonprofit provides education around solar and organizes co-ops, including one in Hillsborough.

Be smart: When you Google "is solar worth it," there are websites that say they'll tell you if you enter information for your home. What they actually do is give your information to a ton of companies who want to sell you solar and will bombard you with calls and texts.

For those concerned about their panels breaking and being thrown away, Tellez said "it's very rare that a panel will be defective."

The other side: Conservative advocates of nuclear energy and fossil fuels have largely pointed out that the panels create toxic waste, even when it's possible to recycle parts of them.

Reality check: A 2021 Harvard Business Review study projects the volume of solar waste surpassing that of new installations by 2031.

Yes, but: The study noted what solar advocates are also pushing for: better regulations to make solar panel recycling more accessible in the U.S. And we can't turn back to fossil fuels, researchers concluded.

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