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> The economics of how power generation works. Power generation has massive economies of scale and single-person initiatives are unlikely to be able to compete.
by salty_biscuits 4y ago
> The economics of how power generation works. Power generation has massive economies of scale and single-person initiatives are unlikely to be able to compete.
The only "in" for a small player is remote/rural where the cost of distribution infrastructure dominates. Also dispatchable service to provide frequency stability seems to be a niche.
- saltminer 4y ago> The only "in" for a small player is remote/rural where the cost of distribution infrastructure dominates. Even then, you still have the same high cost for distribution infrastructure (actually higher once you factor in economies of scale) with none of the experience building said infrastructure. And you're probably not going to be able to build an isolated grid because (at least in the US) power companies have already run wires basically anywhere people are willing to pay for power. The biggest market I can see is neighbors pooling funds for a large solar installation and wiring up everyone's houses to reduce power bills, but that would probably be a permitting nightmare (and that's assuming there's no legislation prohibiting this already).
- mechagodzilla 4y agoThere's legislation in many places to make this easier - it's typically called 'community solar'. You build a separately metered solar installation somewhere, and people nearby typically 'subscribe' to the power at some fixed rate, and it gets credited to the account associated with the meter at your house.