This one is 200KW. All those closed doors are batteries.
That is what a UPS guy does.
Posted on 04/18/2015 7:10:33 AM PDT by ckilmer
Change those batteries every 3 years and hook them up in parallel for greater storage.
“They always talk peak efficiency, not average efficiency, because the sun doesn’t shine in the night and the wind doesn’t blow all the time. This always cuts their numbers in half right off the bat, if not more.”
Nice business model when you have the government force your competitor (fossil fuel power generation) to buy your surplus during the day when it may not be needed, and require that competitor to provide power on cloudy days and a night when you can’t deliver.
Imagine farmer X supplying eggs who signs up to deliver 1000 eggs per day to the grocery store. His hens lay between 80 and 120 eggs per day. On the days the hens lay 120 eggs the government forces another farmer to purchase the extra 20 eggs from farmer X at an above market price, whether or not the competing farmer needs the eggs. On days where farmer X can only provide the store with 80 eggs, the competing farmer is compelled to sell farmer X 20 eggs at a price set by the government. This means the competing farmer is forced by government to maintain and feed a flock of hens far larger than he would normally, just so he can compensate for the variation in his competitor’s production.
We tend to focus on the tax credits, low interest loans, and outright grants to “green” energy producers as subsidies. We should not forget the use of government force to compel utilities to subsidize green energy by maintaining capacity to fill in the production gaps when the sun isn’t shining and the wind isn’t blowing. It may be the excess capital investment and dictated rates to purchase and sell energy represent subsidies far greater than the actual government spending.
I replaced them this week after 4 years. My system is carefully engineered to be what it is. I don’t intend to change battery or panel voltages.
/johnny
I dunno.
We could hook this guy Phil McKenna up to a wind-powered chainsaw...
everything you said is true, but the green producers don’t see a direct benefit from the additional capacity they cost the utilities.
but, the utilities have to buy the power at consumer rates, not wholesale rates. Basically they have the best of both. A true paid ride.
Mr Fusion!
AND - the Gruberment is harrying the competing farmer's chicken flock, at the same time (EPA regulations on coal plants)...
I didn’t mean for you to change anything.
Just keep those batteries fresh. 3-5 is a good schedule.
I am the UPS guy.
that they get the biggest subsidy from the rate payers because they sell power in at the consumer grid rate without having to pay for the grid itself?
Especially in Cali
Wake me when it is.
The reason I know how old the batteries are is that I put a label on those sealed puppies and writing dates when I did tests on them... Right after the UPS guy delivered them.
I wouldn't have had them delivered, but my CFO had different ideas.
/johnny
“Wind power has already reached grid parity”
Hogwash.
http://www.newsweek.com/whats-true-cost-wind-power-321480
http://instituteforenergyresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Giberson-study-Final.pdf
“Wind power is expensive because it requires two sources of power a primary and a backup fossil fuel plant for when the wind is not blowing. Really expensive.”
Same but worse with solar...
I saw an idea once where the solar plant pumps water into a reservoir during the day and produces electricity at night with hydro.
That would be great if it’s true or if it happens. But here’s the thing: The left will NEVER allow it. They don’t want to cheap energy of any kind. Cheap energy fuels capitalism. Capitalism (to them) equals greedy wealthy corporations. The left only likes expensive energy sources designed to make thing more expensive and less practical. They will find ways to criticize whatever happens or taxes to make it more expensive.
“I saw an idea once where the solar plant pumps water into a reservoir during the day and produces electricity at night with hydro.”
I’ve heard that one, too. But where is all that water coming from and where is it going to be stored?
How many solar cells does it take to power a steel mill? The ones that are equipped with arc furnaces that run 24/7/365? Where and how will these plants store and release energy when the sun goes down, and the wind stops blowing?
The problem with 100 meter blades is they can’t rotate as fast as 60 meter blades because the speed of the blade tip is supersonic at lower wind velocity. Going supersonic causes vibration that can destroy the blade so the turbine has to be shut down in high winds. 60 meter speed limit is 56 miles/hour.
The solar array near Las Vegas is not efficient because it is under the path of jet traffic to/from Southern CA. The vapor trails cut down the amount of energy reaching the mirrors. The plant has a gas fired heating system to get the heat exchange liquid warm in the morning so the plant will operate. Sometimes it takes until Noon before the plant can run on sun power. Dust also accumulates on the mirrors, reducing the amount of energy they can reflect the the boiler tower.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.