Will Solar Panels Kill the Utility Companies?
Steven Lake
Solar Expert Posts: 402 ✭✭
http://www.businessinsider.com/bill-gates-biggest-fear-is-a-killer-flu-2015-5
Interesting story about the growth of solar panels. Honestly I don't see solar panels replacing the utilities. At least not until people actually start getting smart about energy use.
Interesting story about the growth of solar panels. Honestly I don't see solar panels replacing the utilities. At least not until people actually start getting smart about energy use.
This discussion has been closed.
Comments
I kind of find it interesting that Bill Gates and world wide spread Viruses concern--The same guy that is pretty much on of the main folks responsible for the world wide digital virus spread via persona computers due to poor programing practices and poor security (although, not just him--The first viruses I saw were on Macs + Floppies--But Windows certainly was not far behind).
And his use of the Spanish Flu as some mystical health event without acknowledging what is already known/theorized--Does not help anything. From the article:
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/01/140123-spanish-flu-1918-china-origins-pandemic-science-health/
It appears that Spanish Flu was spread was based on decisions (frequently governments and companies) that were contrary to good health practices (then and now). Sort of like the digital spread of contagions like we have today (which, arguably, can also be laid at the feet of governments and companies that encourage/fund these "data leakage" technologies these days for spying and profit).
-Bill "does this Tin Foil Hat make my butt look big?" B.
consumption is enforced for NEM aggregation, we will always be dependent on grid infrastructure.
If you live in an area that has grid infrastructure and that property is tied into a transformer, no matter what. You always have to pay for the use of that transformer.
Solar is dependent on feed in tariffs, to accelerate the return on a solar system to achieve net zero, and free power for roughly 18years of the systems cycle.
We depend just as much on utility, just as much as the utility depends on us.
Now if the over production value was $.07kW VS the $.0397 kW payout. Producers need the utility, or there is no one to pay into each other's investment.
It's fair to say that the utility company will always exist, and as technology grows and demands more power for a growing society, solar will always be behind the utility industry unless the conversion rate of a solar panel exceeds what it yields today.
I don't see what bill gates and the spanish flu had to do with this topic.
Must of been a bad link.
LOL
The heck, for that I would take the panel off the grid and use solar power directly at day time without the control or a big fee of the utility company. IE solar powered AC, water heater, lights, etc etc and I still would save grid power without having to pay a fee.
More or less, the State PUC has "promised" the utility an exclusive contract for customers in their region... And have wired/paid for power plants/taken out loans/etc. based on that promise. If I was to go off grid solar and disconnect from the grid, I could get hit with a "departure fee" --- Basically having to refund investment capital that the utility spent "in my name".
Here are a couple of posts about our utility (PG&E):
http://forum.solar-electric.com/forum/solar-electric-power-wind-power-balance-of-system/off-grid-solar-battery-systems/17936-the-solar-surcharge?p=230604#post230604
And some towns will "red tag" a home with no utility connection.
How often that is enforced (if ever), I really do not know.
-Bill
My thought is if you are on grid there is no logic to going off grid because of the cost impacts, logistics, and investment of battery equipment.
-maintenance costs to maintain battery system.
-replacement of aged batteries
In proportion to grid system. Grid tied is much more efficient on harvest and a 3rd less in scale compared to off grid systems.
Even with lithium battery systems the harvest efficiency isn't captured the way harvest is delivered to the grid.
If you have grid it makes no sense.
Uncle Sam and the utility companies are all organizations looking to get paid one way or another.
You can't beat the system on any investment capital scale.
Is there any documentation for this practice? PV panels, just on the roof, not grid-tied to the utility?
It sounds like Lakeland Florida, where a lady was fined for a code violation for her heating oil tank. No, not that she had one, or that it was improperly located or unapproved, she was fined because it was empty!!!
What is the justification for charging people for PV panels, whereas they aren't charged if they just turn off their a/c and save the same amount of power?
http://www.pge.com/b2b/newgenerator/distributedgeneration/generationrule21/index.shtml
I believe that your panels on the roof are a "departing" load to the utility... How it is enforced/how often--I haven't a clue.
-Bill
-Bill
There was a Lakeland woman that was fighting the city about not having a city water connection: [h=3]Off Grid Living Banned[/h] But that was a much different case than what was presented... The basic issue was she was using the city sewer and all she had to pay was the minimum connection fee (basically the sewer tax) and she would have been fine.
-Bill
Every state utility is to meet and confer with their state assembly to structure the electric rules and implement according to those rules.
Only a few of the 43 states in NEM are conformed and current to the electric rules. FERC and CPUC have been working on the federal guidelines for the past few years now.
California serves as the master template so other states may soon follow these guidelines.
It's no different how the EPA enforces laws based on C.A.R.B ( California Air Resource Board). Only a few states do not follow those regulations, but then when it comes to federal funding those states are denied funding, for non compliance.
Do the other 49 states know about this? Judging by the posts from users here, they don't. Nor do the utilities within them, various public service commissions, nor AHJ's (some of whom are thicker than three planks).
Before solar becomes a 'threat' to the grid PV will have to be around 90% efficient instead of 20%, there will have to be a sensible storage solution to keep that power harvested in 4 hours a day on hand for the other 20 hours, and people will have to stop living and working in piled up buildings which don't have enough square area to cover in PV sufficient to provide the power used within (otherwise the PV is out on a solar farm somewhere and has to be distributed via power grid, so what's the use?)
At this point it isn't a matter of economics at all, it's a matter of technology not being advanced enough to make it possible, never mind practical.