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There are a LOT of externalized costs with carbon based energy sources -- pollution and accidents and long term effects that cost money after the profits have been made. And since they are finite, the cost will only go up and up as they become more scarce and more difficult to obtain.
Renewable energy will get lower in cost over time, and they will not run out, and they will get cleaner and cleaner over time; since you can use renewable energy to build the next generation of machines.
I think weeding is a small price to pay. The durability of panels is certainly an issue. Chickens and/or goats would make quick work of those. What broke all those panels I wonder -- small meteors or vandals or hail or... ?
Silicon based systems are the most expensive, and they are solid state; so no chemicals can leak out.
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