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> Solar cannot serve the same purpose without battery or other backup. Think of the battery as a really big capacitor operating on a larger time-scale. It's pe
by zeroxfe 10y ago
> Solar cannot serve the same purpose without battery or other backup.
Think of the battery as a really big capacitor operating on a larger time-scale. It's perfectly reasonable to smooth out power this way, and as battery technology improves, you will certainly see more reliable power from solar for things like server farms.
- Cthulhu_ 10y agoMore reliable, but more costly, too; this solar price comparison is skewed if you don't also include the cost of said batteries / battery capacity. Of course, comparing with coal is also missing the environmental impact.
- daveguy 10y agoAlso note that there are cheaper energy storage methods than batteries. Compressed air, pumped water, flywheel and the recently discussed Ares gravity-rail systems have various price points for storage (kWh) and delivery (kW). Here is the ARES discussion: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11595195 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11595195 I agree storage (if required) and environmental impact should both be considered when comparing different energy options.