3 ms·

There is no such thing as storage. Current storage is tiny. Batteries are insanely expensive.

willvarfar 2y ago
The water behind a dam is storage too, right? There are lots of examples of pumping water up into reservoirs when electricity is plentiful so it can be released when electricity is scarce, see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pumped-storage_hydroelectricity https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pumped-storage_hydroelectricit...
chgs 2y ago
For less than 10% of the cost of land for my house I can run it for a week off battery.
pfdietz 2y ago
Ah, the principle of "nothing can ever happen for the first time". I have to love this sentiment, especially on HN. Because prices don't decline dramatically over time for any technology, right? Or if they do, then the safest thing to do is assume the future will see no continuing of trends of reductions, right? /s
myrmidon 2y ago
You can order 1kW of panels with 1kWh of batteries as a plug-and-play system off of Amazon for about $1k. Thats gonna generate >1MWh of electricity per year easily (probably closer to 2MW even), and with spot pricing for electricity at ~$100/MWh (Europe), this pays off within a decade easily. Provide numbers if you disagree.
toomuchtodo 2y ago
This is factually inaccurate. Solar and batteries are the cheapest form of generation currently. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43414219 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43414219 (citations) Lithium-Ion Battery Pack Prices See Largest Drop Since 2017, Falling to $115 per Kilowatt-Hour: BloombergNEF - https://about.bnef.com/blog/lithium-ion-battery-pack-prices-see-largest-drop-since-2017-falling-to-115-per-kilowatt-hour-bloombergnef/ https://about.bnef.com/blog/lithium-ion-battery-pack-prices-... - December 10, 2024 Lazard Levelized Cost of Energy+ - https://www.lazard.com/research-insights/levelized-cost-of-energyplus/ https://www.lazard.com/research-insights/levelized-cost-of-e...

The water behind a dam is storage too, right? There are lots of examples of pumping water up into reservoirs when electricity is plentiful so it can be released when electricity is scarce, see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pumped-storage_hydroelectricity https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pumped-storage_hydroelectricit...

chgs 2y ago

For less than 10% of the cost of land for my house I can run it for a week off battery.

pfdietz 2y ago

Ah, the principle of "nothing can ever happen for the first time". I have to love this sentiment, especially on HN. Because prices don't decline dramatically over time for any technology, right? Or if they do, then the safest thing to do is assume the future will see no continuing of trends of reductions, right? /s

myrmidon 2y ago

You can order 1kW of panels with 1kWh of batteries as a plug-and-play system off of Amazon for about $1k. Thats gonna generate >1MWh of electricity per year easily (probably closer to 2MW even), and with spot pricing for electricity at ~$100/MWh (Europe), this pays off within a decade easily. Provide numbers if you disagree.

toomuchtodo 2y ago

This is factually inaccurate. Solar and batteries are the cheapest form of generation currently. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43414219 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43414219 (citations) Lithium-Ion Battery Pack Prices See Largest Drop Since 2017, Falling to $115 per Kilowatt-Hour: BloombergNEF - https://about.bnef.com/blog/lithium-ion-battery-pack-prices-see-largest-drop-since-2017-falling-to-115-per-kilowatt-hour-bloombergnef/ https://about.bnef.com/blog/lithium-ion-battery-pack-prices-... - December 10, 2024 Lazard Levelized Cost of Energy+ - https://www.lazard.com/research-insights/levelized-cost-of-energyplus/ https://www.lazard.com/research-insights/levelized-cost-of-e...