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One thing I have wondered: does it make sense to just put most of our eggs in the solar basket in sunny states and then invest heavily in batteries and transmis
by bequanna 3y ago
One thing I have wondered: does it make sense to just put most of our eggs in the solar basket in sunny states and then invest heavily in batteries and transmission lines to less sunny areas?
Wind seems so much more expensive and maintenance intensive.
- thehappypm 3y agoWind is strange, because there is more maintenance and more upfront cost, but the amount of energy you get from a windmill is enormous.
- elif 3y agoPanel and battery prices have come down such that transmission losses, natural disasters to farms, last mile power lines in storms, etc become bigger concerns comparatively. I think the end-use solar and battery model makes more and more sense every year from a consumer perspective.
- einpoklum 3y agoNote that you don't necessarily have to put the panels and the batteries at the same place. You can, and there are benefits like DC <-> AC conversion, but you could in theory de-centralize solar more than you de-centralize battery storage. And there may be some scale advantages there, especially since some storage technologies involve putting things underground, or high temperatures which are a safety concern like with molten salt, etc. Caveat: I'm just a layman about this stuff.
- bryanlarsen 3y agoNo. Transmission lines are too expensive, it's cheaper to put solar panels in non optimal locations. https://caseyhandmer.wordpress.com/2020/12/27/the-future-of-electricity-is-local/ https://caseyhandmer.wordpress.com/2020/12/27/the-future-of-...