I actually, worked for an oil company. We did research alternative energy sources like windmills, solar, geothermal, biogas, etc. The result is our oil company found the alternative sources of energy to be very expensive and the quantities harnessed, not in enough quantities to power a huge number of homes for instance. Solar energy we managed to power a small town with few people to give them electricity. Hardware to put it together cost over $3,000,000 and was donated by Germany. Economically, alternative energy is pure bunk. If they can replace oil, they would have done so, 20, 30 or 50 years ago but, they are nowhere near that because it is all BS crap. Biden lavished the green energy companies billions to sustain them although, they will not benefit the US and its economy that much. I guess it will keep Americans working for green companies at their jobs, a bit longer. Solar energy to power homes alone is in the thousands of dollars in cost. It will take you a long time to recoup all your monies. Otherwise, more Americans will opt for solar energy.
Solar can work, but it is expensive (as you've said) and works well only in certain places. Here in Florida, I've got some friends who have successfully installed solar that runs their house and sells power back to the grid. But it was very pricey to put in (50k ish) with the batteries - there's no way the average home owner can afford it. Expecting to do the same in Seattle is just ridiculous with the days of sun.