3 ms·

This has been relatively clear for a while. Solar is dirt cheap per kwh produced. The only real technical impediment at this point, as the article mentions, is

This has been relatively clear for a while. Solar is dirt cheap per kwh produced. The only real technical impediment at this point, as the article mentions, is energy balancing (both through the night and seasonally). It's interesting that uptake is slow in developing countries - If anything I would expect solar to actually be quite beneficial in places like Africa without well-developed grids, since it's so easy to set up in an independent manner - I guess it might just be down to insufficient income to manage even that :(

toomuchtodo 2y ago
Investment is the challenge to solve for in Africa for more rapid solar PV adoption. https://www.economist.com/middle-east-and-africa/2024/06/18/private-firms-are-driving-a-revolution-in-solar-power-in-africa https://www.economist.com/middle-east-and-africa/2024/06/18/... | https://archive.today/iqE4Q https://archive.today/iqE4Q https://www.inonafrica.com/2024/10/09/africa-moves-to-finally-harvest-its-solar-energy-potential/ https://www.inonafrica.com/2024/10/09/africa-moves-to-finall...
cyberax 2y ago
Solar is really popular in Africa, but on a very small scale, just small panels to charge devices. The problem is that if you want to use solar for something more serious, you get hit with an impenetrable wall. You can't use solar for something like air conditioning or cooking without having a grid-tie inverter (expensive) and a grid. And completely stand-alone systems with batteries are completely out of the question, for now.
- Retric 2y ago
  I suspect the wall is more about the amount of power an AC needs vs a cellphone/battery powered lights etc. A ~200$ UPS may only have minutes of batteries, but it got all the electronics for inverting 1.5KW and safely connecting to the grid which would let you run an AC. I’d expect there to be a market for a cheap box where you can just plug into a wall outlet run in some DC lines from a PV, and then keep an AC running when either the grid or solar panels are supplying power no need for batteries or a knowledgeable electrician. Even just leaning solar panels on the side of your house and running a cord in through the window would work.
  - cyberax 2y ago
    There are plenty of such devices (they're really popular in Ukraine right now). Ecoflow, Deye, etc. The problem is that there aren't that many loads for them (well, maybe a fridge). Even a small AC needs at least 1.5kW of power, so for 16 with little-to-no sunlight you'll end up needing a 24kWh battery. This is a pretty huge battery.
    - Retric 2y ago
      > aren’t many loads for them Saving money on the electricity bill and having improved resilience in a power outage occurs even without batteries. Panels are like 1/3 the cost of a normal home solar system. With this plug in your AC in the summer and Resistance heater in the winter and even though you’re losing money when nothing is using that 1.5KW the dramatically lower install costs probably make up for it. Batteries are obviously better for outages, but you could also plug this into a generator and save on gasoline when the sun is shining.
- more_corn 2y ago
  I bought some cheap panes on Ali express. I think the battery controller was $.99 the inverter was a couple bucks. I run a small, cheap mini split off it ($500 retail in the us). Strangely I wasn’t able to find a dc powered mini split. I guess they make em for RV use but they’re more than twice the price of the one I bought. My whole system is off grid. I run 12v lights and even have a redundant battery system. You can do lot with cheap Chinese parts.
- tim333 2y ago
  Stand alone systems are much advertised on Alibaba eg https://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/AC-DC-Solar-Panel-Powered-Air_1601250471925.html https://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/AC-DC-Solar-Panel-Pow... Says "100% Off Grid Solar Air Conditioner" I've no idea how good it is.
slyall 2y ago
Pakistan has seen a big jump in installs over the last year. Pakistan is now the third-largest importer of Chinese solar panels, buying an incredible 13 gigawatts (GW) in just the first half of this year. To compare, the United Kingdom is expected to add only 1.5-2GW of solar capacity this year and the United States added 32GW in 2023. This likely makes Pakistan the sixth-largest installer of solar panels in 2024 but locally, the impact is even bigger In six months, Pakistan imported solar capacity equal to 30% of its total power capacity, which was 46GW in 2023. https://www.weforum.org/stories/2024/10/distributed-solar-energy-emerging-economies/ https://www.weforum.org/stories/2024/10/distributed-solar-en...

toomuchtodo 2y ago

Investment is the challenge to solve for in Africa for more rapid solar PV adoption. https://www.economist.com/middle-east-and-africa/2024/06/18/private-firms-are-driving-a-revolution-in-solar-power-in-africa https://www.economist.com/middle-east-and-africa/2024/06/18/... | https://archive.today/iqE4Q https://archive.today/iqE4Q https://www.inonafrica.com/2024/10/09/africa-moves-to-finally-harvest-its-solar-energy-potential/ https://www.inonafrica.com/2024/10/09/africa-moves-to-finall...

cyberax 2y ago

Solar is really popular in Africa, but on a very small scale, just small panels to charge devices. The problem is that if you want to use solar for something more serious, you get hit with an impenetrable wall. You can't use solar for something like air conditioning or cooking without having a grid-tie inverter (expensive) and a grid. And completely stand-alone systems with batteries are completely out of the question, for now.

Retric 2y ago
I suspect the wall is more about the amount of power an AC needs vs a cellphone/battery powered lights etc. A ~200$ UPS may only have minutes of batteries, but it got all the electronics for inverting 1.5KW and safely connecting to the grid which would let you run an AC. I’d expect there to be a market for a cheap box where you can just plug into a wall outlet run in some DC lines from a PV, and then keep an AC running when either the grid or solar panels are supplying power no need for batteries or a knowledgeable electrician. Even just leaning solar panels on the side of your house and running a cord in through the window would work.
- cyberax 2y ago
  There are plenty of such devices (they're really popular in Ukraine right now). Ecoflow, Deye, etc. The problem is that there aren't that many loads for them (well, maybe a fridge). Even a small AC needs at least 1.5kW of power, so for 16 with little-to-no sunlight you'll end up needing a 24kWh battery. This is a pretty huge battery.
  - Retric 2y ago
    > aren’t many loads for them Saving money on the electricity bill and having improved resilience in a power outage occurs even without batteries. Panels are like 1/3 the cost of a normal home solar system. With this plug in your AC in the summer and Resistance heater in the winter and even though you’re losing money when nothing is using that 1.5KW the dramatically lower install costs probably make up for it. Batteries are obviously better for outages, but you could also plug this into a generator and save on gasoline when the sun is shining.
more_corn 2y ago
I bought some cheap panes on Ali express. I think the battery controller was $.99 the inverter was a couple bucks. I run a small, cheap mini split off it ($500 retail in the us). Strangely I wasn’t able to find a dc powered mini split. I guess they make em for RV use but they’re more than twice the price of the one I bought. My whole system is off grid. I run 12v lights and even have a redundant battery system. You can do lot with cheap Chinese parts.
tim333 2y ago
Stand alone systems are much advertised on Alibaba eg https://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/AC-DC-Solar-Panel-Powered-Air_1601250471925.html https://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/AC-DC-Solar-Panel-Pow... Says "100% Off Grid Solar Air Conditioner" I've no idea how good it is.

slyall 2y ago

Pakistan has seen a big jump in installs over the last year. Pakistan is now the third-largest importer of Chinese solar panels, buying an incredible 13 gigawatts (GW) in just the first half of this year. To compare, the United Kingdom is expected to add only 1.5-2GW of solar capacity this year and the United States added 32GW in 2023. This likely makes Pakistan the sixth-largest installer of solar panels in 2024 but locally, the impact is even bigger In six months, Pakistan imported solar capacity equal to 30% of its total power capacity, which was 46GW in 2023. https://www.weforum.org/stories/2024/10/distributed-solar-energy-emerging-economies/ https://www.weforum.org/stories/2024/10/distributed-solar-en...