Posted on 04/22/2024 7:51:20 PM PDT by yesthatjallen
In sunny California, solar panels are everywhere. They sit in dry, desert landscapes in the Central Valley and are scattered over rooftops in Los Angeles’s urban center. By last count, the state had nearly 47 gigawatts of solar power installed — enough to power 13.9 million homes and provide over a quarter of the Golden State’s electricity.
But now, the state and its grid operator are grappling with a strange reality: There is so much solar on the grid that, on sunny spring days when there’s not as much demand, electricity prices go negative. Gigawatts of solar are “curtailed” — essentially, thrown away.
In response, California has cut back incentives for rooftop solar and slowed the pace of installing panels. But the diminishing economic returns may slow the development of solar in a state that has tried to move to renewable energy. And as other states build more and more solar plants of their own, they may soon face the same problems.
“These are not insurmountable challenges,” said Michelle Davis, head of global solar at the energy research and consulting firm Wood Mackenzie Power and Renewables. “But they are challenges that a lot of grid operators have never had to deal with.”
Solar power has many wonderful properties — once built, it costs almost nothing to run; it produces no air pollution and generates energy without burning fossil fuels. But it also has one major, obvious drawback: The sun doesn’t shine all the time.
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(Excerpt) Read more at msn.com ...
I wish the country of California well.
I won’t be buying solar panels because our roof is done in Spanish tiles and they can’t put the panels over them but that’s very interesting to know about the lease and the batteries.
And put more outlets in the wall so more electricity can come out.
It’s like putting a second hole in the boat so the water can run out.
#74 Heads Up! California’s New Electricity-Income Tax Is Only Weeks Away: New fixed charge for electricity based on income
https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/4233023/posts
Democrats!
I hear ya, but if you’re generating excess power there is still going to be a bottom price that you still have to sell it for in order to keep it profitable.
I don’t think the water idea is a bad idea, because the excess power has to go somewhere. However, I think selling out of state also works.
Too bad it’s not a gas or liquid, that you could store until needed.
It’s California, they have very high price spikes that can avoided with the Powerwall. The other part is you will be charging a Telsa as well, so that is even more battery.
It’s not the most cost-effective but it does help you be more resistant when the power company turns off the power due to high winds.
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