Also, what's the solar panel's rate of producing electricity?
Solar panels really can't compete with fossil fuels of any kind. They're great for low power consumption applications, but I doubt we'll ever see solar powered steel refineries or heavy manufacturing plants. A solar panel that produces 75 watts is about 62 x 33 (5 feet by almost 3 feet). 75 watts is enough to power a couple light bulbs; you'd certainly never cook anything on it. On the other hand consider how much heat and light is produced by a small natural gas fireplace or stove burner. It would take a lot of those 5 foot long solar panels to equal that.
Natural gas is stored energy- once you use it up it's gone. Solar panels make energy for decades. Thin film solar is around 0% while crystalline silicone might be around 25%.
Solar thermal in commercial applications is more productive than natural gas, taking in consideration the sun must be out. the reason being is when natural gas is exposed to a heating element(boiler, hot water heater) it loses efficiency. lets say solar thermal can produce a therm of hot water, but that would equal .2 therms of natural gas using an 80 percent efficient boiler. solar being close to 95 percent efficient. No boiler can do that. now when the sun goes down, fossil fuel can beat electrically stored energy, not stored steam energy in a thermal plant for example. but that all depends on efficient steam generators.
Solar panels are not nearly as energy productive as natural gas. Case in point how many natural gas fired calculators do you have on your desk? or how many solar fired fireplaces do you know of? Solar panels are a great complement to natural gas/fossil fuel burning sources of fuel though. The more energy you consume from renewable sources of energy (i.e solar, wind, etc) the less you are consuming from non-renewable sources such as natural gas. Solar panel's rate of producing electricity depends on many different variables. Are the panels in direct sunlight? (with no trees or shrubs blocking the panels) There are panels out there made by Kyocera for example that are 85 watts, 65 watts, 50 watts. You should talk with a Professional about this. Look into Sun Electronics as I know that their website has a solar calculator and other helpful tools for interested parties. Good Luck
