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>Think about it. The utility company commissions a solar farm (lower cost than roof top solar), but surely hire a 3rd company to operate the farm ($), and then

>Think about it. The utility company commissions a solar farm (lower cost than roof top solar), but surely hire a 3rd company to operate the farm ($), and then the utility company wants to make $ for their shareholders, therefore, we end up paying a lot of € to cover these. You missed the largest reason home solar can be competetive and that is taxes. 11 cents per kWh and 3 cents sustainability charge and then 21% VAT over the cost price + taxes. And then the government mandates the energy companies have to buy your energy for the same price they sell you energy. So as with many thing here it only makes sense because the government has completely distorted the market.

reacharavindh 3y ago
I would have thought taxes on electricity would be lower because in an indirect way it contributes to cost of business in the country. But, I am surprised. Now, let the tech mature for a reasonable longish term energy storage and I’ll set one up in the backyard :-) Save excess energy from the Summer, use it in Winter, repeat. I don’t have enough space for the amount of LFP batteries I’d need for such seasonal storage. Even flow batteries of today needs more space than I have. So, it will have to be some $future tech that could allow me to save the summer for the Winter.
- namaria 3y ago
  You know, it's a bit hard for me to understand how every household buying hundreds of kilograms of hard to mine metals is somehow a solution to the energy intensity of modern civilization. But maybe I'm just very nearsighted and it'll work.
  - reacharavindh 3y ago
    Well, by that logic, I have some great sophistication going on in my household.. Several devices that took EUV machines(that cost hundreds of millions each) to etch login onto themselves - microchips on my laptop, phone etc. A pipe constantly supplying flammable gas that was probably mined thousands of kilometers away just so that I can burn it and heat up my water for shower. A very dangerous to the environment - refrigerant in both my fridge and heat pump. A tank full of dinosaur juice in my car, which itself was machined and built with some exotic metals mined somewhere else in the world. What difference is a few more kilograms of futuristic substance that can save energy for my house make? I know hundreds or thousands of kilograms of LFP batteries in my backyard in feasible today. But who knows. Maybe we will find a way to mine Lithium or replace it with Sodium and the whole process would become “normal” like the metals in my 3 ton car.
    - namaria 3y ago
      You summed it up pretty well. I struggle to understand the idea that increasing consumption will lessen the impact of previous consumption. If this is our only approach, extrapolation says we're doomed.

reacharavindh 3y ago

I would have thought taxes on electricity would be lower because in an indirect way it contributes to cost of business in the country. But, I am surprised. Now, let the tech mature for a reasonable longish term energy storage and I’ll set one up in the backyard :-) Save excess energy from the Summer, use it in Winter, repeat. I don’t have enough space for the amount of LFP batteries I’d need for such seasonal storage. Even flow batteries of today needs more space than I have. So, it will have to be some $future tech that could allow me to save the summer for the Winter.

namaria 3y ago
You know, it's a bit hard for me to understand how every household buying hundreds of kilograms of hard to mine metals is somehow a solution to the energy intensity of modern civilization. But maybe I'm just very nearsighted and it'll work.
- reacharavindh 3y ago
  Well, by that logic, I have some great sophistication going on in my household.. Several devices that took EUV machines(that cost hundreds of millions each) to etch login onto themselves - microchips on my laptop, phone etc. A pipe constantly supplying flammable gas that was probably mined thousands of kilometers away just so that I can burn it and heat up my water for shower. A very dangerous to the environment - refrigerant in both my fridge and heat pump. A tank full of dinosaur juice in my car, which itself was machined and built with some exotic metals mined somewhere else in the world. What difference is a few more kilograms of futuristic substance that can save energy for my house make? I know hundreds or thousands of kilograms of LFP batteries in my backyard in feasible today. But who knows. Maybe we will find a way to mine Lithium or replace it with Sodium and the whole process would become “normal” like the metals in my 3 ton car.
  - namaria 3y ago
    You summed it up pretty well. I struggle to understand the idea that increasing consumption will lessen the impact of previous consumption. If this is our only approach, extrapolation says we're doomed.