OK, but as an individual homeowner, I can not take depreciation, nor can I sell REC's. I'm just buying solar panels and putting them on my roof ...
... And again, to compare apples to apples, you'd have to tease apart the tax benefits given to existing energy companies over the years to get a real accounting.
You're replying to a guy who talked about 'even utility solar'. So I'm just giving the story for utility solar.
And it's import to note that the biggest solar companies right now aren't residential, but utility, so we're not talking about some niche aspect of the industry here.
And even the biggest residential solar companies their main products are leases right now, meaning they do get to depreciate their installation costs and then either let you rent the panels or buy electricity from them.
So in the vast, vast majority of installed solar panels, depreciation plays a gigantic role.
As for SRECs, you could sell them actually, don't need to be a business to do so.
... And again, to compare apples to apples, you'd have to tease apart the tax benefits given to existing energy companies over the years to get a real accounting.