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re: "prohibiting solar" -- many utilities are able to convince their public utilities commission or legislature that it's in the best interest of the state to p

by ghouse 4y ago

re: "prohibiting solar" -- many utilities are able to convince their public utilities commission or legislature that it's in the best interest of the state to prevent competition to protect their natural monopoly.

ch4s3 4y ago
Or to cover up the fact that they couldn’t balance the load during peak solar production and don’t want to make investments in the grid…
SteveGerencser 4y ago
Very much this. We were in the middle of designing and installing a total solar array for our farm when the state ended every single subsidy and electricity buyback plan. We could install all the solar panels we want, but any electricity we pump into the grid is done for free (we don't get paid) and any power we take from the grid we pay 100% for with no credit for any power we pushed upstream. This forced us to increase the panel array size by another 25% to 30% to make sure we had more coverage, increase the battery storage we needed, and increased the breakeven point to more than 30 years. We decided to not do it. For a world that needs more renewable energy (I sort of hate that term) politicians work awful hard to make it not happen.
- ozzydave 4y ago
  In this case it’s really on the executives at the utilities, who have a lot of power over the local politicians. This podcast did a great explainer: https://gimletmedia.com/shows/howtosaveaplanet/dvhz9ab https://gimletmedia.com/shows/howtosaveaplanet/dvhz9ab
- zo1 4y ago
  It's not just in the US that this sort of thing happens. Sitting here in sunny South Africa, where we have regular rolling/controlled blackouts (load-shedding) because the utilities simply aren't able to generate enough electricity to cover all the demand. You'd think they'd incentivize people generating their own solar like crazy, but they don't. They actively punish people that push back to the grid with onerous requirements. The dirty little secret is that a lot of us have "old" "analog" electricity meters, which can literally go backwards when you push to the grid, which many do.
jillesvangurp 4y ago
It will take a few years to fix that probably. But ultimately, politicians won't want to be in between companies and consumers and some very significant savings on their power bills. No public utility is that strong. It's interesting how solar panels stopped being a divisive topic between different political factions. Everybody likes saving money on power bills. And lots of people are waking up to the notion that 1) they are paying a lot for power and 2) a lot of other people they know are not because they have solar panels. It's irresistible for lots of people. As world + dog starts driving EVs, businesses will want to offer them power charging at their venues to provide a convenient way to top up. That requires cheap power and solar is a great way to get that. The collective power of lots of businesses and consumers demanding their right to access to solar will win ultimately. It's winning everywhere else. Of course there are some places where it is taking a bit longer than it should. But better late than never.

by ghouse 4y ago

ch4s3 4y ago

Or to cover up the fact that they couldn’t balance the load during peak solar production and don’t want to make investments in the grid…

SteveGerencser 4y ago

Very much this. We were in the middle of designing and installing a total solar array for our farm when the state ended every single subsidy and electricity buyback plan. We could install all the solar panels we want, but any electricity we pump into the grid is done for free (we don't get paid) and any power we take from the grid we pay 100% for with no credit for any power we pushed upstream. This forced us to increase the panel array size by another 25% to 30% to make sure we had more coverage, increase the battery storage we needed, and increased the breakeven point to more than 30 years. We decided to not do it. For a world that needs more renewable energy (I sort of hate that term) politicians work awful hard to make it not happen.

ozzydave 4y ago
In this case it’s really on the executives at the utilities, who have a lot of power over the local politicians. This podcast did a great explainer: https://gimletmedia.com/shows/howtosaveaplanet/dvhz9ab https://gimletmedia.com/shows/howtosaveaplanet/dvhz9ab
zo1 4y ago
It's not just in the US that this sort of thing happens. Sitting here in sunny South Africa, where we have regular rolling/controlled blackouts (load-shedding) because the utilities simply aren't able to generate enough electricity to cover all the demand. You'd think they'd incentivize people generating their own solar like crazy, but they don't. They actively punish people that push back to the grid with onerous requirements. The dirty little secret is that a lot of us have "old" "analog" electricity meters, which can literally go backwards when you push to the grid, which many do.

jillesvangurp 4y ago

It will take a few years to fix that probably. But ultimately, politicians won't want to be in between companies and consumers and some very significant savings on their power bills. No public utility is that strong. It's interesting how solar panels stopped being a divisive topic between different political factions. Everybody likes saving money on power bills. And lots of people are waking up to the notion that 1) they are paying a lot for power and 2) a lot of other people they know are not because they have solar panels. It's irresistible for lots of people. As world + dog starts driving EVs, businesses will want to offer them power charging at their venues to provide a convenient way to top up. That requires cheap power and solar is a great way to get that. The collective power of lots of businesses and consumers demanding their right to access to solar will win ultimately. It's winning everywhere else. Of course there are some places where it is taking a bit longer than it should. But better late than never.