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TFA wasn't really trying to address those issues. And in the case of: > - we can’t rely on intermittent power source without grid scale batteries (which we do

by Jedd 5y ago

TFA wasn't really trying to address those issues. And in the case of: > - we can’t rely on intermittent power source without grid scale batteries (which we don’t cheaply have) .. for domestic users, behind the meter storage is fast becoming compelling. I had (with local subsidies) AUD $7,000 worth of panels installed earlier this year, and generate an average of 2.5 more power than I consume. A $10,000 battery system probably cover my domestic usage for all but the most rare run of cloudy days. That second figure's on a downward trend, too, especially as flow storage and other battery technologies start to benefit from the scale-up.

sesuximo 5y ago
I made this point because (I thought) TFA was saying all we need is better government policies, but we also need cheap storage and long distance transmission (which are hard/expensive). Your example shows that the storage cost is still on the order of the cost of panel installation, and you live in a very sunny place so probably use the battery less than average (I’m guessing based on AUD).
- Jedd 5y ago
  Well, here in AU we definitely need better government policies - as our current administration is hellbent on coal and gas, and penalising renewables. As per the story linked in TFA, written by two former AU prime ministers, the reasons for this aren't hard to identify. Depending on panel capacity and storage size, then yeah, you may find they align - but it's all a tradeoff. My point with those numbers is that for a reasonably small cost (compared to say the capex of a house build, which is the time these things should be installed) you can get very close to self-reliance in terms of electricity, at least at a residential scale, so we're not all held up by grid-scale storage systems. Commercial consumers of electricity tend to have predictable cycles, and therefore their baseload is much easier to manage.

by Jedd 5y ago

sesuximo 5y ago

I made this point because (I thought) TFA was saying all we need is better government policies, but we also need cheap storage and long distance transmission (which are hard/expensive). Your example shows that the storage cost is still on the order of the cost of panel installation, and you live in a very sunny place so probably use the battery less than average (I’m guessing based on AUD).

Jedd 5y ago
Well, here in AU we definitely need better government policies - as our current administration is hellbent on coal and gas, and penalising renewables. As per the story linked in TFA, written by two former AU prime ministers, the reasons for this aren't hard to identify. Depending on panel capacity and storage size, then yeah, you may find they align - but it's all a tradeoff. My point with those numbers is that for a reasonably small cost (compared to say the capex of a house build, which is the time these things should be installed) you can get very close to self-reliance in terms of electricity, at least at a residential scale, so we're not all held up by grid-scale storage systems. Commercial consumers of electricity tend to have predictable cycles, and therefore their baseload is much easier to manage.