Is Alternative Energy Really Cheaper?

From MY pet jawa:

EAST AMWELL, New Jersey (Reuters) - Michael Strizki heats and cools his house year-round and runs a full range of appliances including such power-guzzlers as a hot tub and a wide-screen TV without paying a penny in utility bills.

His conventional-looking family home in the pinewoods of western New Jersey is the first in the United States to show that a combination of solar and hydrogen power can generate all the electricity needed for a home.
...

Caminiti argues that the cost of the hydrogen/solar setup works out at about $4,000 a year when its $100,000 cost is spread over the anticipated 25-year lifespan of the equipment. That's still a lot higher than the $1,500 a year the average U.S. homeowner spends on energy, according to the federal government. Even if gasoline costs averaging about $1,000 per car annually are included in the energy mix, the renewables option is still more expensive than the grid/gasoline combination.

But, you say that those numbers don't make sense? That paying $4,000 per year in a system that eliminates your $1500 per year utilities payments. Yep, that sounds like a perfect deal to me. Why pay $1500 to your utilities when you can pay $4,000 to another "utility" company. But it is not about that you say? Well, you may be right along side this guy...

But for Strizki and his colleagues, the house is about a lot more than the bottom line. It's about energy security at a time when the federal government is seeking to reduce dependence on fossil fuels from the Middle East, and it's about sustaining a lifestyle without emitting greenhouse gases.

Cause you know, everyone can afford to splash down $100,000 on alternative energy sources ... let alone $4,000 per year in payments.

Can you say, IDIOCY?!??!