My wife & I lived on a Solar Powered Houseboat in the Mississippi River in Minnesota for several years,
and will testify to some of the observations made by the author of this article.
We absolutely LOVED the silent, non-polluting, free generation of POWER from the Solar Panels,
but the downsides are many.
The worst downside was the 12 large lead/acid batteries along the keel.
These are extremely toxic, and have a relatively short life (3-5 years).
Like the article mentioned, they also demand constant monitoring.
There are controllers available, but they also require monitoring.
When our batteries were FULL, we dumped the load into things like an electric hot-water heater.
WE have since moved to a very rural area in West/Central Arkansas,
and are living a sustainably as possible. We won't be bringing a TON of Lead/Acid batteries
on to our property, and our Rural Electric Co-Op has no provisions for selling power back to the system.
Until they do, or unless a BIG breakthrough is made in electric storage, we won't be investing in Wind/Solar Panels.
We are doing many things to reduce our consumption.
We will be adding Solar Hot Water next Spring.
Living totally on Solar Power was a learning experience.
We became power misers with a constant consciousness of consumption, and how to reduce it.
The irony is that if everyone lived as if they were on
Solar Power,
we wouldn't need Solar Power.