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The storage costs are the issue. The grid cannot realistically be more than about 20-30% solar PV without matching storage. Storage is expensive, like 20-30 c
by pstrateman 10y ago
The storage costs are the issue.
The grid cannot realistically be more than about 20-30% solar PV without matching storage.
Storage is expensive, like 20-30 cents/kWh expensive.
It's just not competitive with natural gas which is available for ~6 cents/kWh.
- toomuchtodo 10y agoStorage is not 20-30 cents/kWh. Storage alone, provided by Solar City in Hawaii, is 14.5 cents/kWh as of this year [1]. These costs will only continue to decline [2]. The price of natural gas will increase again [3] (and currently, its closer to 7-10 cents/kWh, not 6); when that does, it only makes renewables more competitive. Renewables will never get more expensive than they are today; coal will be gone in the next 3-5 years, and natural gas not far behind. [1] http://cleantechnica.com/2016/02/19/solarcity-deploy-tesla-energy-batteries-52-mwh-evening-electricity-storage-kauai-hawai%CA%BBi/ http://cleantechnica.com/2016/02/19/solarcity-deploy-tesla-e... [2] http://cleantechnica.com/2015/03/26/ev-battery-costs-already-probably-cheaper-than-2020-projections/ http://cleantechnica.com/2015/03/26/ev-battery-costs-already... [3] https://www.eia.gov/dnav/ng/hist/rngwhhdm.htm https://www.eia.gov/dnav/ng/hist/rngwhhdm.htm
- pstrateman 10y agoThat's certainly an improvement from 20-30 cents/kWh. However for solar PV with storage to replace natural gas their combined cost is going to need to be less than 6 cents/kWh. The combined cost of solar PV and storage is currently 20-50 cents/kWh. Do you really see a 10x performance/cost improvement right around the corner?
- toomuchtodo 10y ago> Do you really see a 10x performance/cost improvement right around the corner? I see batteries under $100/kWh in <5 years.