I live in an all-but-inactive HOA. We have a nice clubhouse, tennis courts, pools, etc. We have solar panels all over the neighborhood. I'm in California, and I seem to recall that an HOA may not restrict the installation of solar panels. It went pretty high in the courts and the HOAs got their asses handed to them. I personally don't want solar yet because of the RoI. They generally degrade below a useful level before the mortgage is paid. Nice for power outages, so if that's common where you're at, and get plenty of insolation in your location, it might be reasonable for you.
If you get to thinking you’re a person of some influence, try ordering somebody else’s dog around.
