[chimera]

Once it goes on the grid, you've got to manage it. There is no way around that. You may not have to worry about it too much if the numbers are small, but if federal law for example mandates that the local grid accept whatever power might be offered by small-scale, home generators, and a sizable number of users in a given area take the bait, then the grid operator will have to deal with it. My guess is that grid operators will makeup up for the presence of unreliable sources by running more reliable sources in reserve mode. Higher costs will be passed on to grid customers, resulting in a wash for those who supply power to the grid, higher costs for those who don't but still get caught in the squeeze. The hoped-for cost savings result in higher prices.

The solar-charged electric car is only saving you money if it's on the road, and it's use displaces what you'd normally use gasoline for. That means high availability. That means it has to hold a charge efficiently between charging cycles, be able to respond efficiently to multiple, repeated deep charging cycles (which means advanced battery technology), and there had better be enough sunshine frequently and for a long enough duration to effect those charging cycles. If not, you risk running out of juice at the wrong time. Electric vehicle mileage will be drastically impacted by the use of environmental controls, heating in the winter and A/C in the summer. We don't think about it much now because it's very easy to pull into a corner gas station when the tank is running low. We may not have that option when the battery is giving out. I know, I know, just pull into a battery-swapping station. But it's going to be a long road getting that kind of infrastructure in place.

[meyer]

Once it goes on the grid, you've got to manage it.....

In more ways than one! Self-generation is also a problem at the distribution level. Any source connected to the grid is a potential hazard to lineman.

Picture the typical storm scenario - wind blows through, knocks down a few trees, lightning strikes and blows the occasional insulator or fuse. The lineman comes out after the storm and sees that a tree had fallen, causing a fuse or circuit breaker a mile away to blow or trip, resulting in a power outage. His job is to get the tree out of the wires and get the wires back up, and then restore power.

But he won't start working just yet - first, he has to open or check open and red-tag all switches that could possibly energize the line he's working on. Pretty routine today, when all possible sources are mapped and are generally few in number. Perhaps two or three switches and he's made it safe to ground the conductors and start working. He will not work without a proper tagging procedure - it isn't safe to do so, and it's in violation with OSHA standards that have been in effect for decades (back when OSHA really meant something).

But wait - what if 2 or 3 or 10 or 50 customers have their own power source. Now, the lineman has a choice. He can go to each home and disconnect the meter, and tag, or he can hang working grounds, potentially damaging any generation or power source that has been inadvertently connected to the damaged part of the distribution system. I know what I'd do if I were a lineman wanting to restore power to my customers.

Incidentally, this problem has cropped up on occasion when people pull out the portable gasoline-powered generator after a storm and proceed to backfeed the distribution lines. Most people don't even think about installing a proper transfer switch to prevent feeding the incoming line, and it's evident that some don't even bother to open the main breaker before connecting their generator.