Build a Green Home - No More Power Bills Ever

Hawaii is mandating solar hot water heaters on all new homes.
http://ecoscraps.com/2008/06/01/hawaii-law-requires-all-new-homes-install-solar-hot-water-heaters/

I haven't paid an electric bill in 15 years, but propane and petrol are my downfalls.

He has to remember to pay fuel tax, some guy who ran his car on biodiesel was fined for not paying tax on it.

I rescind my previous wager.

"Although the device cost $500,000 to construct, and it is unlikely it will ever pay off financially (even with today's skyrocketing oil and gas prices), the civil engineer says it is priceless in terms of what it does buy: freedom from ever paying another heating or electric bill"

Though, I AM still curious if the payout would grow if this were implemented on a larger, more mass-produced scale.

I'm curious as to how this scales. I mean, would the cost/benefit gap grow smaller or larger depending on how big you go with this idea? If every new home was mandated to have a certain square-footage of solar panels installed and connected to the power grid, then wouldn't our cities essentially become their very own power plant?

If this guy hasn't had to pay for gas or power in two years I'd lean heavily toward the "genius" end of the spectrum. If he keeps it up I'm sure he'd see a net gain within the life of the home. It's just that initial investment that kills.

Genius or dumbass.. I can't decide