Even if both off-grid and grid-connected solar customers do not contribute to common infrastructure costs, they will still benefit from electricity used to power streetlights, traffic signals, police and fire stations, hospitals, stores, schools, restaurants, airports, etc. EVs and solar require extra capacity, equipment, and have an impact on power quality which may shorten the lifetime of their neighbors’ appliances and electronics.
How do we avoid a tragedy of the commons? Is this a situation where individual residents, acting independently to reduce carbon, inadvertently undermine the economic sustainability of the shared resources through their collective action?