[Uncledave]

I don’t think the scenario you’ve laid out is a likely result. Utilities will figure out how to deal with it, or they just won’t do it.

I think more likely is that the solar power put on the grid will be priced very low for grid-tying, say a penny or so/Kwh. Utilities will then decide to use it or dump it if it’s too much trouble. Maybe the utility subsidizes the inverter in exchange for very low cost power that they may find a use for. Of course, some govt pork can easily get thrown into this.

The big win for this technology in consumer adoption, as I mentioned earlier, is from rechargeable vehicle batteries. A great deal of families can make very good use from a second “around town” car that’s say ~$5,000-7,000, can go 40-50 mph for about 100 miles - instead of having two $15-20k gas cars. Those products will be coming online over the decade I think.

[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.